How to Teach a Kid's Cooking Class

Teaching children to cook provides a lifetime benefit.

Teaching children to cook provides lifelong benefits. Children who can prepare snacks and meals don't have to rely on fast food and processed foods to satisfy their appetites. And new college students who know their way around a kitchen can avoid gaining the dreaded Freshman 15 --- the extra weight college students often pack on when Mom's not around to provide wholesome foods.

When instructing children, it's important to offer age-appropriate lessons. The book "Home Learning Year by Year" by Rebecca Rupp can help instructors design lessons for children in preschool through grade 12.

Things You'll Need

• Soap
• Hand towels
• Heat-resistant kitchen mitts
• Heat-resistant potholders
• A set of kitchen knives
• Cutting board
• Recipes (the number of recipes needed depend on how many classes you teach)
• Kitchen items and ingredients necessary to complete your selected recipes
• Set of measuring spoons
• Flour (enough to practice measuring skills)
• Flat, non-serrated knife
• Set of measuring cups
• A measuring cup for liquids
• Mixing bowl
• Fork
• Whisk
• Electric mixer
• Cake pan
• Butter (enough to grease a cake pan)

Instructions

1. Teach kitchen safety skills immediately. Exemplify and inform students about kitchen hygiene and the importance of sanitary practices to avoid contaminating foods and spreading food-borne illness. Insist every child wash his hands with soap and water before each lesson, even if no food preparation will take place. If teaching older children, devote part of the kitchen safety lesson to avoiding burns, using knives, and oven and stove-top safety. Stress the importance of using appropriate kitchen mitts and potholders and keeping "safety first" in mind at all times.

2. Demonstrate basic cooking skills such as how to properly measure liquid and dry ingredients. Use water and flour to practice. Teach students how to use a flat knife to level off dry ingredients in a measuring spoon. Show children how to perform common kitchen tasks necessary to make any recipes you plan to use. These might include beating eggs or batter (with a fork or whisk for younger children, or with an electric mixer for older children) and greasing a pan with butter.

3. Introduce a recipe once your students have mastered kitchen safety and are familiar with the cooking techniques needed for the recipe. No-bake recipes are ideal for very young children. Websites like Pillsbury's offer a large selection. While encouraging healthy eating is important, be sure to retain your students' interest by using recipes they'll want to make and eat. Older children will enjoy learning how to prepare popular kids' foods like pizza (English muffin pizza for younger children, and homemade pizza for older ones), tacos and sweet treats. Offer students a selection of recipes and have them vote on the one they'd most like to learn.

References

• Kids Health: Beating the Freshman 15
• "Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School"; Rebecca Rupp; 2000
• Teach Kids How: Teach Your Child the Basics of Cooking
• "Betty Crocker's Kids Cook!"; Betty Crocker Editors; 2007
• Pillsbury: Recipes: No-Bake

Resources

• Good Housekeeping: Cooking With Your Kids
• "Teens Cook: How to Cook What You Want to Eat"; Meghan Carle, Jill Carle, Judi Carle; 2004
• "Cooking with Kids for Dummies"; Kate Heyhoe; 1999
• "William-Sonoma Kids in the Kitchen: Fun Food"; Stephanie Rosenbaum; 2006