kids baking

What children can learn from the Mouse who wants a cookie!

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Little Cookhouse conducted our very first class requiring our 3-5 years old to measure out the ingredients. It was a very good learning experience for us, as we need to work with a lot of ambiguity.

  1. Ambiguity in precision, given that the quantity required for ingredients are typically given in grams. In order to make it manageable for kids so young, we converted it into spoons and cups size. Sound simple? Actually not so, because a cup of liquid is different from a cup of flour or a cup of butter!
  2. Ambiguity in measurements, given that the recipe is now based on tablespoons, and a child may not scoop a full tablespoon as required in our measurement. The consequence, is a cookie that may not turn out to be a cookie….

Fortunately, our little chefs manage it well (with assistance from Teacher and parents of course!), and produced cookies which tasted great, even though there were slight differences in colours, size and even the sweetness.

This, as we explained to parents, is what makes baking a learning process. We can teach children the importance of measurement, that by adding more or less of something, their output may differ. Your ultimate goal is not the creation of restaurant-quality food, but boosting your child’s self-esteem and encouraging independence. More importantly, it’s about having a happy kid who’s excited to spend time working on something and doing it well!

Baking is also about providing early exposure to the child, in terms of measurement, scooping, sieving, which all helps in their numeracy and fine motor skills development. It also presents opportunities to talk about culture, nutrition and values. For instance, parents can continue to engage the child after the class, by discussing about the values from the story ‘If you give a mouse a cookie’.

Parents can ask leading questions like “Will you give the mouse a cookie?”, “Why did you do so?”, “Do you think the mouse is being greedy?”, “Do you think the boy was very kind and helpful, and such an act is something you can also learn from?” etc.

Again, it’s not about arriving at a factually correct answer, but about stimulating the thinking of your little one!

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Engaging under 3yo in the kitchen

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Engaging under 3yo in the kitchen

Children under 3 are too young to join in cooking activities, but there are still ways to engage them in the kitchen, while you’re busy preparing food for the family!

Here are 10 useful tips for you! (adapted from http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/)

  1. Leave plastic containers, inexpensive pans, plastic silverware and wooden spoons on a bottom shelf in your kitchen. Toddlers will learn the kitchen isn’t totally off limits to them and while you are cooking they can join in the fun with their own dishes.
  2. Buy a kitchen play set with dishes and play food, or create your own. Collect cardboard food boxes and plastic containers. You can even build a play kitchen with a large cardboard box and your imagination. Get down and play cooking or grocery shopping with your toddler.
  3. Help them learn about cooking by example. Show them the bubbles (at a far distance) boiling in a saucepan or your messy hands while kneading dough. Put them in their high chair while you are cooking and let them look at a different angle.
  4. Teach them kitchen safety early. Teach your toddlers what is hot and what not to touch in the kitchen.
  5. Tasting good homemade food is a good start to learning and growing in the kitchen, also.
  6. Let them eat with the rest of the family. If they can’t wait for a late dinnertime give them a later snack to tide them over. Hungry toddlers make for a more stressful dinner preparation.
  7. Teach them new words while you are cooking. The names of fruits, vegetables or items you are using in the kitchen are a good start. Even if they are too little to understand what you are saying, they will understand you are talking to them. And even though you are busy cooking they will feel involved in what you are doing.
  8. Protect your curious toddler from the dangers in the kitchen. Cook on the back burner or at least make sure the handles to pots and pans are facing towards the back. Have child locks under the kitchen sink. Place breakable dishes and glasses up high.
  9. Make snacks accessible or at least in the same location so your toddler will know how to communicate to you that they are hungry. This is especially important when they can’t talk yet.
  10. Talk about your five senses in the kitchen. Point out that wonderful smell is dinner cooking in the oven, which they can smell with their nose. Let your toddler feel how soft flour is, compared to coarse sugar.

The early exposure will help your toddler to learn that the kitchen is not so dangerous after all! And by encouraging them to explore (safely of course), don’t be surprise when your child spouts that new word about food!

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Why we need to teach children to wash their hands?

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Germs are everywhere and your hands may carry them and cause infection to yourself and your loved ones. Children are most vulnerable to get infections, hence instilling good personal hygiene in children such as inculcating hand washing habits is vital for their health and well-being.

We had recently attended the course on Food & Beverage Safety and Hygiene Policies and Procedures by NEA, to increase our awareness on maintaining food hygiene during the preparation process, and we found that even adults are not aware of the proper hand washing technique nor the importance of it.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hygiene interventions including hygiene education and promotion of hand washing can lead to a reduction of diarrhoeal cases by up to 45%, as well as prevention of germs, infections and spread of diseases such as the hand food mouth disease.

Getting children to wash their hands thoroughly may not be easy at first, but once they learn the proper hand washing techniques and understand the reason behind it, they will pick up this habit in no time. I’m sure even many of us do not know the proper 8 steps to wash our hands (see below).

wash

It is important to instill a sense of fun when teaching children how to keep their hands clean. For instance, parents and caregivers can add in a hand washing quiz or game that kids can participate actively and perhaps be rewarded at the end for their efforts. This helps them to remember the various steps in hand washing.

Parents and caregivers can use the Washy Washy Clean song to teach children the correct technique of washing hands the fun way. The duration of the song serves as a timer to demonstrate the hand washing process. All it takes is 30 seconds.

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Teaching Children about Working Safely with Kitchen Equipment

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I always recall how in my younger days, my parents will forbid us from entering the kitchen, for fear that we will injured ourselves. No doubt, there are dangers around, but we can take precautions to lower this risk! Here are some basic rules parents can adopt

  • Keep young children away from hot appliances like ovens, toasters and kettles
  • When you are cooking, always use the rings at the back of the cooker and turn pan handles towards the back. This way they can’t be grabbed or knocked over by active children of any age
  • Push your kettle to the back of the worktop and choose one with short or curled flex so that it can’t be pulled off the top
  • Keep knives and scissors in a high drawer which is out of reach
  • Keep cleaning products high up and out of sight and reach and, for low cupboards, fit safety catches
  • Use cleaning products which contain a bittering agent to stop children swallowing them
  • Don’t hold your child and a hot drink at the same time and don’t pass hot things over children’s heads
  • If using any hot appliances, such as a kettle or oven, make sure children understand how this can be dangerous and keep young children at a distance
  • Show older children how to use an oven glove when taking anything out of the oven and how to put it down safely on a heatproof surface
  • Pick a recipe that is easy to follow and doesn’t have too many ingredients so that you can focus on supervising your child and not reading through the recipe – this also helps to keep it fun
  • Before you get started, allocate tasks to children which are right for their age and ability, for example buttering a cake tin, sifting flour or cracking eggs
  • Supervise and show children how to use kitchen equipment safely, i.e. when grating vegetables or whisking eggs
  • Always supervise children when they are using knives or other potentially hazardous utensils

Adapted from http://www.childalert.co.uk/article.php?articles_id=327

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4 Simple Breakfast Recipes that you can prepare with your kids

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Adapted from http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/easy-breakfast-meals.html

french

1. French Toast
loaf sliced bread
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
sprinkle cinnamon
Blend eggs, milk and cinnamon in flat dish. Heat griddle. Soak both sides bread in egg mixture and fry on griddle.

eggs

2. Microwave Eggs
In a small glass or microwave safe bowl, crack open 1 or 2 eggs inside. Cook in the microwave 1 minute. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped ham or vegetables. Continue to cook until egg is set about 30 seconds or less. Serve with toast and fruit.

vegetable-quiche-mini-cups

3. Quiche Cups
This are great to make ahead and freeze. Pull out of the freezer in the morning and heat in the microwave 30 seconds -1 minute.
In a mixing bowl, blend eggs (depending on how many you are making ahead of time) Add in any of the following ingredients you like.

  • Shredded cheese
  • Chopped onion
  • Chopped, cooked spinach
  • Mushrooms
  • Diced ham
  • Crumbled sausage
  • Bacon, chopped
  • Chopped green peppers

Blend together and pour into a muffin pan lined with muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool, bag and freeze it for breakfast or snacks.

waffles

4. Whole Wheat Waffles
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup oil or applesauce
4 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
Heat waffle iron or use a waffle mold for baking. Add all ingredients in mixing bowl. When waffle iron is heated add a scoop of batter into waffle iron and cook until brown. Serve with peanut butter, maple syrup or fresh fruit.

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