Here are 10 alternative cooking ideas to try out with preschool children
Cooking is a great way to support many aspects of development such as fine and gross motor skills, mathematical understanding and exploring cause and effect. Many settings give children the opportunity to take part in cooking activities with biscuits, cakes and bread being the favourite options. Cooking activities do not have to involve using an oven, there are lots of great ways to let children explore food preparation and creating something to eat.
Here are some cooking ideas to do with Pre school children
Fruit Kebabs
Cut up a selection of fruit into small pieces and offer on plates. Children are then given a wooden skewer each. It is important to teach children how to hold the skewer correctly and be careful of the pointed end. Allow the children to choose which pieces of fruit they would like on their kebab. Encourage the children to push the fruit onto their skewer until half full. Melted chocolate, yoghurt or syrup are fun toppings that can be used to drizzle over the kebab once finished.
Sandwiches
Making a sandwich may not seem very exciting to adults but children will love the responsibility. They will be able to use their fine motor skills when spreading butter on the bread and make choices on the filling they would like. Making a sandwich allows children to practise a range of skills, and feel pride in their achievements once complete.
Salad
Once again a salad may not seem interesting to make yet it offers children the opportunity to practise and refine many physical skills. Allow children to help prepare the vegetables for the salad by washing them in water. This gives children a feeling of responsibility. The children can then help an adult to cut vegetables to put in the salad. This should be done with great care and supervision of children using sharp objects.Some vegetables such as carrots can be pre cooked allowing them to be easier to cut for small children. Cutting boards can be offered, teaching children about good food hygiene and safety.
Carrot Cake Pancakes
Carrot cake pancakes are a healthy way to cook with the children. Encourage the children to talk about the ingredients and where they come from. Children are able to mix the ingredients into a batter and watch the liquid transform into a pancake. These are quick and easy to make. Find out how to make them here.
Orange Jelly Boats
This is a fun way for children to explore and make jelly. You will need to cut oranges into half removing the inside of the fruit. Then make some flavoured jelly using jelly cubes and boiling water. The children can help to break up the jelly cubes and make them melt in the water. Once the jelly is ready it needs to be poured into the oranges and refrigerated for around three hours or until set. Once ready cut them into quarters and let the children make their own sails to put into their boats
Frozen Yoghurt Bites
Frozen yoghurt bites are a great way to experiment with yoghurt and fruit. Use cake cases in a cake tin, to ensure the cases keep their shape through the process. Use natural yoghurt to pour into the cake cases, filling them around half full. Children can then choose what sliced fruit they want to add to their yoghurt bites, raspberries, strawberries and bananas are a great idea. Once complete, simply freeze until solid. They yoghurt bites will easily pop out of the cake cases creating a small yoghurt and fruit snack for the children to enjoy. Find out more here.
Doodh Peda Indian Sweets
These egg free and gluten free are a great way to take the cooking experience to different cultures. These traditional Indian sweets are easy to make and involve no baking. Children are able to mix the ingredients together and have fun rolling the mixture into balls. Find out more here.
Pizza Faces
These are a fun and creative way for children to take control of cooking. Plain bread rolls can be used instead of pizza dough to make the cooking experience quick and simple. The children can use their fine motor skills to spread tomato puree over the pizza base and choose from a range of toppings such as sliced ham, cheese, sweetcorn, peppers or pineapple. Encourage children to create funny faces using the toppings. Simply pop in the oven until cooked and let the children enjoy their funny pizza faces.
Juice Ice Pops
Juice ice pops are a great way for the children to cool down in the hotter months. They are easy and quick to make using only juice, water and some ice lolly moulds. This is a great way for children to practise their control over tools, such as pouring water. Simply mix some pure fruit juice with water, pour the mixture into the moulds and freeze for a couple of hours. You can also add some small slice of fruit too!
Super Smoothies
Smoothies are a great way for children to experience using some kitchen appliances such as an electric blender. Allow children to choose some fruit such as banana, strawberries or pear. Ensure these are sliced and the skin removed. Let the children put a selection of fruit into a large mixing bowl and add some milk. Encourage the children to use the electric blender (with supervision) to mix the fruits together until they reach a smooth texture without lumps. Ice cream can also be added to the smoothies to make them thick and creamy!