Your Child Will Learn
Food and cooking vocabulary and an introduction to cooking
Here’s What to Do
- As you prepare a meal, talk with your child about what you’re cooking and how you’re preparing it.
- Invite your child to help where appropriate. Some simple cooking tasks for young children:
- Handing you ingredients
- Scooping ingredients with measuring cups and spoons
- Stirring
- Pouring
- Setting timers
- Invite your child to interact with ingredients, like:
- Smelling spices
- Tasting fruits, veggies, and herbs
- Touching textured ingredients like rice or beans
- Eat your meal together! Talk about how you cooked each of the ingredients.
Put PEER Into Action
PAUSE
- Find a safe spot for your child to be near you while cooking (like sitting in a high chair). Wash your child’s hands.
ENGAGE
- “Do you know what this ingredient is? Yes, it’s a sweet potato! How can we cook it? Tonight we’re going to bake the sweet potatoes inside the oven.”
- “Can you smell this spice? Does it smell yummy to you? What does this spice remind you of? It reminds me of tacos.”
ENCOURAGE
- “Do you want to do an experiment with me? Let’s see what these beans taste like before and after we cook them.”
- “Hmmm… we could cook the potatoes in the microwave, that’s one great way to cook them. This recipe actually tells us to use the oven to bake them instead.”
REFLECT
- “What part of helping was the most fun? What would you like to try next time?”
Not Quite Ready
If your child isn’t ready to help, just describe the cooking tasks out loud as they watch and/or play nearby.
Ready for More
Invite your child to try more advanced cooking skills like breaking eggs and grating cheese.
As Your Child Masters This Skill
They will expand their food and cooking vocabulary
Time to Complete
30 minutes
Materials Needed
Ingredients and kitchen tools to make a meal