Little budding chefs

the Pre-school curriculum nowadays even features cooking sessions which can be beneficial to children
theSun, Tues 21 Oct 2008

DURING my time, I went to kindergarten to play, sing, listen to stories, and learn the alphabet and numbers. There was no Montessori stuff, field trips, or science experiments. Now, my daughter is being taught all these and more.

Pre-schools these days have become more holistic in their teaching approach and some even include cooking as part of their curriculum.

It got me thinking as to what benefits can be derived from this activity.

When children participate in food preparation, they start appreciating a wider variety of food and become less picky eaters. They tend to want to eat what they have made themselves.

You can also teach them about the various food groups and their health benefits.

Cooking helps children become more creative as it allows them to make decisions, to experiment with various ingredients to create new tastes and to decorate their dishes.

It teaches them patience as they go through the preparation process and wait for the food to get cooked or the cake to rise.

The various methods involved in cooking such as heating, boiling, freezing and beating can be used to teach science.

Watching water boil and produce steam, or how flour changes from solid to liquid when mixed with milk or water, for example, helps them experience and learn about changes in the state of matter.

Cooking lets children exercise their reading, counting and measuring abilities, and develop their fine motor skills by using tools such as scoops, shredders, grinders and cookie cutters.

Allowing them to handle a knife also helps build their confidence. You must, of course, provide them with a butter knife and supervise their activities in the kitchen at all times.

A butter knife goes a long way in letting them cut food like boiled eggs, cheese, soft fruit like bananas or melons, dough and bread.

Children will be more self-confident and have better self-esteem when they know that they are able to do things on their own.

Cooking teaches about sex roles and other cultures too.

While children have observed that cooking is commonly done by females such as their mother or grandmother, they should be made aware that it is not gender-biased. Boys can be interested and encouraged to cook too.

Cooking traditional food and recipes from another culture or country lets children learn about the different cultures around us.

Watching cooking shows, especially those by male chefs, or food and travel programmes on television, exposes them further to these aspects.

Cooking is a great way to distract children from watching too much television or playing computer games. It is one activity where you can discuss about health and safety, including hygiene, use of kitchen tools, electrical appliances and fire safety and prevention with them.

And don’t forget, it is also one way you can spend quality time and have fun with your children.