How Cooking Can Help Children Learn

As teachers, students, parents, and administrators across the globe adjust to distance learning, little tweaks and moderations are being made with hopes of making this time easier for everyone. One thing that seems more common as we continue on our distancing journey is something along the lines of “Wellness Wednesday” or CHILL Day (Catch up, Help around the house, Inhale and exhale, Learn something new, Laugh). A CHILL Day is a day that families get a breather from distance learning and teachers can participate in professional development.

Some schools are giving guidelines for fun, educational activities to do on this day that do not involve technology. Other teachers provide activities for families to do together and have parents submit pictures of their child(ren) participating in the activities. One of my favorite ideas for taking a break from technology is to teach children through cooking!

What Can Cooking Teach Us?

Through cooking, students of all ages can cover such a large variety of subjects and content. Below are just some of the topics families can discuss while they are cooking together.

Easy and Fun Recipes

Keeping things easy and fun will help students remain engaged. The more engaged they are, the more likely they are to embrace concepts. Below are some recipes I found that are easy to make with children. (I don’t really cook, so trust me when I say they’re actually easy!) Most ingredients you probably already have at home, too.

• Pancake Muffins (Super easy with pancake mix, I use protein pancake mix. I added syrup to the batter too which makes them extra yummy!):
  • https://twinmomrefreshed.com/pancake-muffins/
• 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars: (I’m thinking about trying these with Rice Krispies too!)
  • https://www.thelazydish.com/3-ingredient-peanut-butter-cheerio-bars/
• English Muffin Pizzas (an old favorite!):
  • http://twinmomrefreshed.com/english-muffin-pizza-toddler-recipe/
• Gluten Free Spinach Muffins for Picky Eaters: (This one has the most ingredients but they are all fairly common)
  • https://detoxinista.com/spinach-muffins/
• Sweet Potato Biscuits: (My kids, like most, LOVE carbs, so I’m excited to try these!)
  • https://thefreerangelife.com/sweet-potato-biscuits/
• 2 ingredient Cereal Yogurt Bark or Cups: (Can you guess the two ingredients?!)
  • https://mom.com/momlife/41056-2-ingredient-cereal-and-yogurt-bark/
• 3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies: (I melt dark chocolate chips to add into ours!)
  • https://i.pinimg.com/originals/60/dc/cb/60dccb5abb2be39fa5922fa4f7e9f675.jpg
• Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
  • https://www.ihearteating.com/easiest-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe#wprm-recipe-container-22036
• Andddddd just in case you’re like me and have no vanilla extract in the house, here’s a list of 10 substitutes you can use:
  • https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/10-substitutes-for-vanilla-extract

Looking for More Ways to Teach Children through Cooking?

I created this Home Learning Freebie just for my email subscribers! It has instructions for cooking english muffin pizzas at home along with math activities that explore sequencing, fractions, and more. If you’re not already on my email list, you can sign up now and get your own copy today!

So What Are You Waiting For?

A little cooking can go a long way. If you try one of these recipes, tell me what you think!