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Cooking with young children provides parents and caregivers an opportunity to expose children to new concepts and successes while spending quality time together.
Some values to cooking with children are as follows:
· Vocabulary – Children can learn the names of cooking utensils, new foods, ingredients, measurement, and new actions.
· Cognitive Development – Ask children questions such as “What’s happening?”, “What do you see/hear/smell?”, “How does it taste?”, and “How did it change?”.
· Reading/Writing – Parents can motivate these by using flash cards, reading pictures on labels and following a sequence of instructions.
· Physical Development – As children prepare the food (knead, mix, toss, and stir), they continue to develop fine and gross motor control.
· Social Development – Children can develop skills such as taking turns, talking and sharing together.
Children can be involved in all aspects of the cooking experience. Together you can develop the shopping list and help the children to identify what items he/she needs. A child will experience pride and satisfaction at being involved in the whole process.
I tried to teach my child with books
He gave me only puzzled looks.
I tried to teach my child with words
They passed him by often unheard.
I turned aside
“How shall I teach this child?” I cried
Into my hand he put the key,
“Come”, he said, “and PLAY with me.”
Author Unknown
This is a weekly family meeting effectively involving children two years and older. Based on democratic principles, this practice encourages open communication and positive problem solving among family members, and fosters feelings of equal worth and mutual respect. It is also an ideal forum for planning budgets and activities and for sharing good news.
Some guidelines to consider:
· Begin promptly at agreed time.
· Rotate secretary and chairperson positions weekly, as possible
· Share good news: affirm each others’ efforts and recognize achievements
· Review finances: keep a family bank with funds for school activities, family outings, and allowances
· State new business: each member has an equal voice. If there is a problem, agree upon what happened, share feelings about the problem, brainstorm solutions, and decide which is best. Record the plan in the minutes and put plan into action immediately. Evaluate the plan at next meeting.
· Close meeting. Always end on a positive note, such as with a treat or planned outing.
Busy parents often worry that “quality time” with family members is lost to the demands of household responsibilities and to obligations to employers. In fact, the best time spent with your family does not involve costly or pre-planned outings, but rather the songs you sing at bedtime, the encouragement you show your youngster for his accomplishments, and the guessing games you play while you prepare supper together. These are the moments that matter. If you treat your child with respect and show her that she is a valuable part of your family, you are already sharing very positive time indeed.
As parents, we all want our children to be happy, healthy, responsible, and safe. We also want them to like themselves and to learn independence. We accomplish this when a family, no matter the number or structure, communicates feelings of love, equal worth, understanding, and respect, and when all members contribute in their way to family plans and activities.
Creating a Co-operative Environment
• Keep your house “on limits” to children:
• Install easy-to-reach hooks to hang things up in bathroom, bedroom and hall.
• Put away expensive ornaments until children graduate from infant, toddler, and pre-school stages.
Children two years old and older can share household tasks:
• 2-year olds can help make their beds, set the table, or help care for a baby sibling.
• 3-year olds can also help dress or undress themselves, dust feed pets, or tidy their toys.
• 4-year olds can also help prepare meals, tidy their own rooms, or answer the telephone.
• 5-year olds can also prepare their own simple lunches, help with yard work, or help with shopping.
• It is important to instruct children in their jobs, making expectations clear.
• Do not expect perfection, but allow for some failures. Be patient, correct tactfully, and resist temptation to re-do tasks to your own standards.
• Teach them the importance of following through. If they do not, follow through with their tasks:
® Jog their memory; don’t nag.
® Issue logical consequences; e.g. if your 4-year old does not behave appropriately at the store, as agreed, do not take him with you next time, and explain your reasons for your action.
® Allow natural consequences; e.g. if your 3-year old knocks over a tower her playmate has just constructed, she may find that her friend will no longer play.
• It is important to be fair and consistent at all times.
Above all else, have fun!
Hey, we’re still here. It’s the middle of August already! Time is flying by!
I have good news though. All the fall calendars and program flyers are up on the Childreach website. There is lots happening in the playroom and out and about in the community, and now’s the time to start registering for parent workshops and our family enrichment programs!
Infant Massage classes begin in October!
