Cooking activities are a great opportunity for children to explore new foods, and can even help to encourage learning eaters to try something new! Here’s some ways you can get children involved in cooking activities in your centre.
Skills development
Preschoolers aged 3–5 years have greater control and coordination in their fine motor skills allowing them to take on more complex cooking tasks, with supervision. They’re developing patience, focus, and the ability to follow simple instructions, making cooking a fun way to build confidence and independence.
Tasks
Great cooking skills for preschool children to practise include:
- Mixing and whisking independently, using two hands
- Cracking eggs
- Using tongs and spatulas
- Cutting harder ingredients like cucumbers and carrots
- Spreading toppings on to bread or crackers
- Mashing foods like bananas or potatoes
- Kneading, rolling, and shaping dough
- Peeling Vegetables with assistance
- Opening packaging and containers
- Weighing and measuring ingredients
Recipes
Give these recipes a go:
- Rice paper rolls
- Beetroot hummus
- Sandwich faces
- Watermelon Christmas trees
- Ants on a log
- Mini wraps
- Zucchini slice
- Sandwich sushi
Top tips!
- Ensure children are always supervised when cooking and eating.
- Practice good hygiene by washing hands thoroughly and frequently.
- Ensure plenty of cloths or wipes are close to hand for cleaning up accidents and spills, before you begin! Aprons or smocks can also help to protect clothing and limit mess.
- Offer a variety of age-appropriate utensils to explore with, such as tongs, spatulas, pastry brushes, whisks, and ladles.
- Use a pull-chopper to chop or dice ingredients with big smells like onion and garlic, or use pre-prepared options like pre-diced frozen onions and minced garlic paste.
- Use child-safe knives and peelers with specially blunted edges. Plastic knives or smooth butter knives may be suitable options.