Cooking with Kids
 

I talked with the SA dcks during winter break about cooking this summer together. I have 3 kids who love to cook at home and 1 of them is very creative with his cooking. He's only 8 but is always cooking for his family. :) I truly see the possibility of being chef in his future. Anyways, does anyone know of kid recipe sites, especially geared towards cooking with kids? Actually, they'll be supervised of course but will have to do most of it themselves. So they're ages 7, 8, and 9. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much!

I don't know of any sites. But I plan to do this over the summer also. It is part of my program. I have found I don't need a site per say. I just involve them in cooking what we are eating. The favorite with my kids though is pizza. I make the dough homemade and then each gets a blob. They press and roll it out on parchment paper and then put their toppings on it. Write name on corner of parchment with a sharpie, cook and serve on the parchment paper!

I have given recipes to my 8-yr-old summer kids and pulled out ingredients and had them make snack while the younger kids nap--usually muffins. They've done a great job without any help, even when I say they need to double the recipe. (Kids I know can read well, follow directions, and have cooked with me before.) It's one of their favorite things to do.

I suggest the first activity you do with the children is to have them research some cookbooks that interest them! You can go on a trip to the library and check several out and see what "clicks".

Another option is to pick weekly themes and build recipes for the week around that them.

An example I would use for themes is: Taste of the World

Week 1: Italy
Week 2: Thailand
Week 3: Mexico
Week 4: France
Week 5: America
Week 6: Japan

With this approach you would be able to blend geography, cultural awareness / cultural studies, research skills as the children should be doing the research with your assistance and cooking! This gives you a great deal to work with and fill your days!

Also while co-authoring my organic babyfood cookbook I was given several children's cooks books the ones that get used most often by myself with my dd are:

• Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!)
• The Cookbook for Kids (Williams-Sonoma): Great Recipes for Kids Who Love to Cook
• Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up
• American Girl Baking

We also like the Everyday Food Cookbooks - they require minimal ingredients and steps plus photos which is a requirement for my dd. We also like Jamie Oliver (just check those out at the library though) as his book lead to good discussions.

All good ideas, thank you!
The things I make for dc are very simple back to basic stuff. I don't dare make anything different for them. :( I'll look up some recipes(Lord knows my pinterest board is filled with them Lol)and mark them. I like the idea of different cultural foods and places to study but to be honest, I doubt I'll have the time to devote to it. :(

Fun with kids
 

It is always fun to cook along with kids