Now I know it can be messy, frustrating and challenging to have children cooking in the kitchen but the outcomes far out weigh the negatives. The more my boys are kitchen savy the more everybody benefits, especially mum. I’ve already enjoyed my first breakfast in bed which was lovingly prepared by Noah, being 6 years old at the time. My honey toast and cuppa tea was delivered to my bedroom with love and care. It was a special moment. I’m looking forward to my boys baking me other goodies and serving up dinner for the family.
My boys are also learning crucial Maths skills through their hands experience in the kitchen. We need to weigh a lot of Noah’s food servings to work out the carbohydrates so we have been getting him to weigh food servings as well as items required for baking. I have come across many students who get confused with measurement and often these students haven’t had any practical hands on cooking experience. There’s certainly nothing better than the practical concrete learning that happens when children get that hands on experience.
Healthy eating has always been a high priority for me and its even more important now for Noah to establish great eating habits. With my boys, I’ve started getting them to work out what ingredients I may have put in the dinner dish and this also gives the opportunity to talk about the types of food, their benefits and whether the meal is a well balanced one.
The last wonderful aspect of my boys in the kitchen is being able to discuss where the foods in the fridge and pantry come from. We have a basic herb patch and some chickens which helps to paint the picture of life’s food chain for us. Nanna and Poppa also have a small aquaponics vege patch and we hope to begin our own vege plot in the not too distant future. It’s really all a lot of fun and satisfaction involved when you involve young ones in the culinary arts.
