Using the Kitchen as a Classroom

Do you remember cooking in the kitchen with your parents?  When I was about 7 years old, my mom taught me the word, “meniscus” while baking cookies. She showed me how to make exact measurements by leveling off powders with a knife (that she called a straight edge) and how to measure liquids properly by placing the cup on a level surface. She modeled how to bend down to eye level with the measuring cup to find the meniscus (slight dip the liquid makes at the edges of the cup).  It wasn’t until my high school chemistry class that I realized what my mother taught me in childhood was giving me an advantage to the rest of my class.

Involving your children in food preparation is only the beginning to using your kitchen as a classroom.  Reading recipes, breaking down whole numbers into fractions and strengthening fine motor skills by kneading dough are a few of the many benefits to the quality time spent cooking together.  Being exposed to a multi sensory lesson, in which you can taste, smell, touch and see what you are learning activates the brain in such a way that a high school student with learning disabilities will be able to remember a scientific word like “meniscus” 7 years after learning it.  

As parents, we are more powerful than we realize.  Open your kitchen with the intent to empower your children.  Allow them to crack the egg, mix the flower, read the recipes to you.  The internet has a wide range of child friendly recipes to use with your children.  Get started with this recipe booklet published by The First Lady, Michelle Obama: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips/sample-menus-recipes/WhiteHouseRecipes.pdf.  There is no limit to what you and your child can learn together.

Outdoor Fun!

Looking for something to do outdoors? Let your child make a bug catching habitat by poking holes in an old peanut butter jar. Help your little one fill the habitat with leaves for food and sticks for climbing, then encourage him to search nature under rocks, in a field or at the park.  You can even make binoculars by gluing 2 toilet paper rolls together.  Be sure to sit back and watch as your little one embarks on his expedition of the great back yard. 

Not into bugs?  Check out, “It Looked Like Spilt Milk,” by Charles G. Shaw, then sit outside and compare cloud shapes.  No matter what your child’s energy level or interests, there is something for her outdoors.  In a world full of favorite TV characters, Weekly Featured Apps and You Tube videos, it is important to turn off the electronics and get outside. 

Non-directed play, commonly called “free play” where children make up the rules and adults are mere spectators, is quickly diminishing from the childhood experience.  This type of open ended imaginative play is a valuable learning tool for young children.  It encourages logical thinking and reasoning skills, develops a love of nature and allows for free and original thought.  Playing outdoors is also fantastic exercise for little ones with countless opportunities for fine and gross motor development. 

Whether your a get messy, dirt digging family or a cloud watching at sun set type of clan, make sure to get outside and Jam in the outdoors daily!