Cookin’ Cards: Individualized Cooking Recipes. (Photo from Montessori Services)
As preschoolers, my children loved to help me cook and bake. Some of their favorite recipes, though, were the easiest, allowing them to demonstrate independence and self-discipline.
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I made the following items available at home:
- A few low shelves in the kitchen with my children’s food-preparation supplies
- Real vegetable peelers and other child-sized kitchen utensils
- Picture-based recipe cards when possible
- A kitchen step stool so my children could easily reach the counter when helping me
- A child-sized table for food preparation when working independently
- A child-sized apron to give importance to the food-preparation activity and provide a beginning and ending to the task
Ants on a Log
A favorite recipe was Ants on a Log. I liked to use recipe cards similar to those in the photo.
For Ants on a Log, I had the celery, scrub brush, safe knife, cutting board, peanut butter, and raisins set out in an orderly fashion when I first introduced the recipe. As my children became comfortable with food preparation, they were able to prepare recipes with little or no help from me.
Here is another great food-preparation resource: a list of cooking activities from Montessori Mom. The article is called “Cooking with Kids and Learning the Alphabet too!”
UPDATE: This post was featured in 30 Fun Finger Foods for Kids at Circle of Moms.
Linked with Discover and Explore: Cooking with Kids.
Stef says
July 8, 2010 at 12:20 amthanks Deb – you always have such great information to share on Thursdays! Love checking out your link up posts!
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 7:20 amThanks so much, Stef! I really appreciate your encouraging comments—and I love your link up posts as well!
Stacey says
July 8, 2010 at 1:40 amI love that you are reminding us that it does not have to be difficult to cook with little ones. They just want to be 'doing' what mom is doing!
Thanks!
Stacey
from the HS Village
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 7:26 amThanks, Stacey! That’s so true!
Maureen says
July 8, 2010 at 1:54 amI'll have to check that ABC recipe book out. I think my almost preschooler would love it! Visiting from the HSVillage.
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 7:46 amThanks for visiting and for your comment, Maureen! The article has two recipes for each letter except w, x, and y, so there are lots of great ideas. I’m sure your preschooler would love a lot of the activities.
Nikki says
July 8, 2010 at 2:08 amThanks for sharing how you do things! It sounds like your kitchen is a very fun place to be!
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 7:52 amThanks for your comment, Nikki! My children are grown up now, but we often have fun in the kitchen when we get together!
monica says
July 8, 2010 at 3:08 amthanks for the book recommendation. I'll have to look for that one.
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 8:01 amThanks for commenting, Monica! The link is to an article about "alphabet" recipes, so it's easy to access. The recipe cards are easy to find or make.
Cherees says
July 8, 2010 at 10:56 amThanks so much for sharing this! I never thought about have the picture recipe cards when Sephy was little. I will have to remember that one if I ever have another little one. 🙂
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 1:47 pmThanks, Cherees! I really liked using picture recipe cards both when I had a Montessori school and for my own children. Even if children can read, the cards still seem to make the food-preparation process simpler and clearer.
Sherry says
July 8, 2010 at 11:56 amWhat fun! 😀 It can be so easy to have them do simple things, and they feel great to help Mommy! 😀
Deb Chitwood says
July 8, 2010 at 1:50 pmThanks for your comment, Sherry! It's great, isn't it?! And it creates wonderful memories!
JDaniel4's MOm says
July 9, 2010 at 6:21 amStopping from Mom Loop! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I love the idea of recipes with pictures. I need to work on some for my son.
Deb Chitwood says
July 9, 2010 at 1:03 pmThanks for stopping by—have a wonderful weekend, too! Picture recipe cards do work well. We didn’t have digital scrapbooking when my children were young, but that would be an easy (and professional looking) way to make picture cards if you didn’t want to make them by hand.
Hot Cookin' Chi says
July 9, 2010 at 8:28 amI love the picture recipe cards idea! And I'm happy to see more bloggers talking about how much fun it is to have children help cook in the kitchen! My kids love to help me cook.
Deb Chitwood says
July 9, 2010 at 1:05 pmThanks for your comment! It’s great that your kids love to help you cook—such a great life skill and wonderful memories as well!
Jenny, Home is Where says
July 10, 2010 at 5:34 amAnts on a log is still one of my kids' favorite treats, and they are all big now!
we also really liked fishing for goldfish crackers- you put goldfish crackers in a bowl and then put a big dob of peanut butter and give the kids a straw. they dipp the straw (fishing rod) into the peanut butter and 'catch' the goldfish. They thought it was grand!
Deb Chitwood says
July 10, 2010 at 7:42 amThanks for your comment, Jenny! What a fun idea!
Unplanned Cooking says
July 11, 2010 at 8:00 amI am so excited that I found your blog! My sister is a Montessori teacher, and I have been looking for activities to do at home.
Stopping in from Mom Loop.
Deb Chitwood says
July 11, 2010 at 9:19 amThanks for visiting! I'm glad you found me! In addition to my other blog posts, I have a featured Activity of the Week each Monday.