Cooking is especially good for preschoolers and here's how:
1. Two year olds are developing large muscles
in their arms: They will enjoy stirring and stirring and
stirring :-). My two year old is always asking to stir; and her subconscious
knows why! At 2 years old, a child naturally imitates circular strokes
as part of their normal physical development. So, let them stir at
every opportunity.
Here are some ways to encourage arm muscle development through cooking:
-
stirring: flour, eggs, pancake batter, gelatin making, etc.
-
scrubbing potatoes and vegetables
-
cleaning the cutting board: Give them a washcloth and some lukewarm water with the cutting board in the sink. They'll have a blast rubbing the wet washcloth up and down the cutting board to clean it.
- pouring from large measuring cups into a bowl
2. Two year olds are developing the ability to turn pages: Another motor skill developed during the preschool age is the ability to turn pages.
So - just pondering here...is it the story they
love so much or just turning the pages of the book? Well, actually
both. They need the motor development of turning the pages; and
the pictures and vocabulary improve their intellectual development.
3. Two year olds love "patting" and "pressing": From being fascinated with "patty-cake" chants at an early age, preschooler's still love to pat and press.
I'm sure you'll recognize your preschooler doing
this at the park: scooping up rocks or sand, piling them up, and
patting the top into different shapes.
Well, here's some suggestions to bring the "patting" inside:
-
packing down brown sugar in the measuring cup
-
gently pressing a fork on top of peanut butter
-
cookie dough on the cookie sheet
-
patting to level off the top of a cup of sugar
-
patting and pressing on pizza dough
- pressing down with a cookie cutter on rolled sugar cookie dough
4. Two year olds love to dip - and this develops arm muscles skills too!: it takes a lot of coordination to dip! Getting the food in the dip, then moving the arm and somehow getting it into your mouth. If it wasn't difficult, they wouldn't get food all over their face! :-)
So, unless your 2 year old always has a clean face when he or she is done eating, here's some dipping opportunities:
-
carrots in salad dressing
-
french fries in catsup
-
dipping a spoon in the emptied batter bowl to clean out the goodies :-)
-
dipping fruit in a fruit dip or chocolate (like frozen bananas or strawberries)
-
dipping chicken or fish in a batter for you to cook
- dipping the bread in French toast mix
So, instead of "shooing" your preschoolers
and 2 year olds out of the kitchen, let them dive in with these
simple tasks that not only give them great pleasure, but help
them develop their age appropriate motor skills.
Laura Bankston is author of Internationally selling Cooking
with Kids Curriculum: “Homeschool Cooking in a Box”
and the “Homeschool Cookbook”. She currently home
schools her three children, maintains home school support
websites, and manages their family-owned service business.
For information on her curriculum and free home school support
services, please visit http://www.homeschoolcookbook.com
laura@homeschoolcookbook.com
Mar 21
20 Egg-sellent Easter Crafts & Activities for KidsHere you go….. here are some of my favorite Easter crafts and activities to do with my children for the Easter Holidays. Kids love the Holidays for many reasons. But, I like to remind my children that bottom line the Holidays are about "Family". So, remind your [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "20 Egg-sellent Easter Crafts & Activities for Kids", url: "http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/2008/03/21/20-easter-crafts-and-activities-for-kids/" });
Mar 13
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Dec 11
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Nov 14
Tiny Prints - It?s Free. It?s Easy. It?s Charitable!!I came across this Website today that I just had to share with my Preschool Education Blog viewers. Tiny Prints is donating up to $50,000 this Holiday Season to Children’s Charities. And, they are asking the World Wide Web to help them decide which Children’s Charities a portion [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Tiny Prints - It’s Free. It’s Easy. It’s Charitable!!", url: "http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/2007/11/14/tiny-prints-charity/" });
Nov 7
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Oct 28
How to Explain to your Preschooler if it is Autumn or FallDo you use the terms “fall” and “autumn” interchangeably? If so, you are just like most other people in America who agree that the two words are meant to mean the same thing (the season that comes after summer and before winter). But there is another school [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "How to Explain to your Preschooler if it is Autumn or Fall", url: "http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/2007/10/28/how-to-explain-to-preschooler-if-it-is-autumn-or-fall/" });
Oct 21
Leaf Crafts for KidsFall is a terrific time to incorporate leaf crafts into kids’ daily activities. You can take kids outside to get some fresh air and physical activity while they collect the leaves. Then you can come indoors again and keep them busy with the crafts. Leaf crafts are [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Leaf Crafts for Kids", url: "http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/2007/10/21/leaf-crafts-for-kids/" });
Oct 15
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Oct 9
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Oct 4
How to Teach your Child about FallWhat better time to teach your child about fall than when we’re right about to enter the midst of it? Fall is a great teaching tool because it applies to so many different areas of life. Not only do kids learn about the seasons, but they also [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "How to Teach your Child about Fall", url: "http://www.abchomepreschool.com/PreschoolEducationBlog/2007/10/04/how-to-teach-your-child-about-fall/" });