Cooking
I have brought my love of cooking into the classroom by using hands-on and developmentally appropriate recipes that correlate with our themes.
Children have benefited in the following ways:
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Social-Emotional Development: As children follow recipes that are child-friendly and include pictures, they become self-directed, develop independence, and learn the importance of following directions.
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Physical Development: As children chop, mix, and spread, they develop their fine motor and eye hand coordination.
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Cognitive Development: While cooking, children’s thinking, problem-solving, and creativity are utilized. Cooking promotes the application of mathematical skills such as counting, measuring, and following a sequence.
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Language Development: As children talk about what they are doing, explore ingredients, and observe changes in color and texture, their language development is stimulated.
Standards:
Domain 2 – Physical Development and Health
Physical Development
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Uses senses to assist and guide learning.
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Identifies sights, smells, sounds, tastes and textures.
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Compares and contrasts different sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures.
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Uses descriptive words to discuss sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures.
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Uses sensory information to plan and carry out movements.
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Demonstrates appropriate body awareness when moving in different spaces.
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Exhibits appropriate body movements when carrying out a task.
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Demonstrates awareness of spatial boundaries and the ability to work within them.
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Demonstrate that they are motivated to communicate.
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Listens attentively for a variety of purposes (e.g., for enjoyment; to gain information; to perform a task; to learn what happened; to follow directions).
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Nods or gives nonverbal cues that he is understanding.
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Domain 4: Communication, Language, and Literacy
Print Concepts: Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
● Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
● Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
● Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
Alphabet Cookies
During our Beginning of the Year unit, we work on letter identification and name recognition.
Children made letter cookies using their first initial.
Applesauce
While exploring trees, students learned that apples grow on trees and made applesauce. They had fun and especially enjoyed using the apple corer.
Gingerbread People Cookies
After reading the story of the Gingerbread Man, children made their own Gingerbread people.
Pumpkin Muffins
While making pumpkin muffins, students learned that pumpkins grow on the ground, not on trees.
Play Dough
Making play dough was one of the children’s favorite activities. In addition to developing their fine motor skills, improving their vocabulary, and reading information for meaning, children’s creativity was aroused as they shaped, molded, rolled, and kneaded the dough.
Play Dough Trees for the Tree Unit
After we made play dough, students made items that fit with the current unit of study:
Play Dough Baked Goods for the Bread Unit
Play Dough T-Shirts for the Clothing Unit
I provided my fully remote class with child-friendly recipes related to our unit of study. For example, after learning that bananas grow on trees during our tree unit, students made pancakes with bananas. During our ball unit, students baked assorted sports ball cookies. Students enjoyed sharing what they made.
