This is my daughter cooking with me several years ago. Although she is older now, we cooked again tonight just as we do every-so-often. She, along with my younger son, helped make chicken, rice, and Asian vegetables.
Kids learning how to cook is the same as most people learning how to do anything. We build more advanced knowledge on top of a foundation of more fundamental knowledge. When my daughter was younger, as in the picture, she learned how to cut vegetables with a safety-knife made for children. She learned how to safely stir the pot. She learned how to not burn herself by using an oven mitt.
Today, I was simply able to say, “Please go check the chicken. Remember to use an oven mitt.” “Can you chop up some garlic with your brother?” So the foundation of knowledge has been growing for some time. My son is a teenager, so I can assign even him more complex tasks.
So part of learning is reinforcing what is already known. Both of them reinforced using a knife, being careful around the stove, and putting vegetables into a pan.
The other part of learning is building on top of the foundation with new knowledge. Today, I got out four types of rice. I asked what they already knew about each kind, which was more than I thought they knew. My daughter actually knew what Jasmine rice was and my son remembered that Arborio rice was used for risotto. Because I could assess their current understanding, I was then able to explain in more detail about the different kinds of rice and how we would cook rice for dinner tonight. Next time we cook rice, I can simply remember to reinforce what we did tonight and perhaps move on to something even more complex if the kids are interested.
The main point of this post is that cooking with kids doesn’t require a lesson plan and it doesn’t require a vast amount of knowledge, talent, money, or preparation. They will build upon whatever foundation you help them establish at a young age. As long as that foundation includes unconditional love for them (just as God loves us), your kids will be able to enjoy time spent with you and learning in everyday circumstances – such as cooking!