Cooking with young children in your daycare is valuable because it enhances their gross and fine motor skill development. Children learn to measure, pour, stir, and scoop. They also learn about science when they are doing cooking activities. First, check to be sure there are no restrictions or prohibitions in your state or county with regard to cooking with kids. Then, implement simple cooking activities in your daycare center.
Quick Cooking Safety Tips
When cooking with children and cooking for children be sure to take the following precautions:
- Always provide close adult supervision
- Use plastic knives and measuring cups and stainless steel bowls that won’t break.
- Make sure the cooking activity is at child’s level
Wash hands, utensils, cutting boards, etc. after handling raw meats. - Clean and sanitize counters, tables, cutting boards, and utensils after using them.
Lady Bug Snack: Slice an apple in half lengthwise, and place cut side down on a plate. Create the ladybugs’ spots using raisins and attach to the apple slice using a dot of peanut butter. To create the head attach a grape with a toothpick. There you have it! Lady bug snacks!
Blueberry Pops: Allow children to add one pint blueberries, ¼ cup sugar, and 1cup nonfat milk to a blender. Puree until smooth. Next add one cup of vanilla nonfat yogurt. Blend and then pour into Popsicle molds. Insert Popsicle sticks and freeze for 3 hours or until set.
Edible Flowerpots: Use ice cream cones to represent flower pots. Use two scoops of chocolate ice cream for dirt and put in your “edible flower pot”. Put “Reeses Ice Cream Topping Pieces” in the chocolate ice cream to represent seeds. Place candy flower sprinkles on top of the chocolate ice cream to look like the seeds have sprouted.
Red Velvet Cookies: Mix 1 Box red velvet cake Mix with 2 eggs and ½ cup of vegetable oil. Roll the mixture into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies, and then bake in a 375°oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Mix cream cheese frosting with red food coloring. Once cooled, frost the cookies with red cream cheese frosting.
Dirt: Â You will need: 2 boxes chocolate pudding, 4 cups milk cool whip, Oreo cookies, plastic baggies, clear cups, gummy worms Place two Oreos in bag for each child. The children crush the Oreos in the bag. Make pudding. Fold cool whip into pudding mixture. Add half of the Oreos and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Â Add a scoop of pudding mixture to the plastic cup. Place a sprinkling of cookie crumbs on top and top with a gummy worm.
Fruit Skewers with Yogurt Dip: You will need nectarines, bananas, kiwis, strawberries, and grapes, plastic skewers, vanilla yogurt and brown sugar. Cut the fruit into bite sized pieces. Mix ½ cup of yogurt with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to create the yogurt dip. Let the children thread the fruit onto the fruit skewers and dip their fruit into the delicious yogurt dip.
Image Source:Â DashRecipes.com
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