Did you know that exposure to cooking helps children develop good food habits and a taste for fresh, wholesome ingredients? Preschool teachers have seen that kids are more likely to eat what they prepare. Moreover, cooking develops a sense of responsibility and ownership in children. If your kids help you in the kitchen, you may experience fewer mealtime battles and more inclination to try new foods. Besides these, there are many other benefits of cooking with kids.

Cooking enhances their literacy skills :

While cooking, you must be labeling the ingredients and this will increase children’s vocabulary. They learn to follow directions and this enhances their receptive language skill. While cooking, you can explain each step to them and ask them to explain that step in their own words. For more advanced learning, you can encourage them to predict what will be the next step or the ingredient you are going to use.

Develops fine motor skills :

You must be surprised to know that stirring the pancake mix or rolling the dough or using cookie cutters are all great ways to enhance their fine motor skills. They need to develop they are fine motor strength and control to perform better in academics, such as writing, cutting, and coloring.

Increased their numeracy skills :

As cooking involves a great deal of measurement, children learn about various measuring tools such as cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, etc. If you ask any La Habra CA playschool teachers, they will tell you to cook with your children to help enhance they are basic math skills.

Improves reading skills :

You can ask your kids to read the recipes for you. For the preschoolers, you can start with the numbers such as “2” cups of water or “3” tbsp of butter, etc. If your kids are confident reads then you can ask them to read each step and then follow the directions. These small steps will enhance their fluency and confidence in reading.

Increases focus and attention :

Cooking requires a lot of focus and attention so so kids need to pay attention to eat detail on the dish will not turn out correctly.

Teaches life skills :

Cooking is a life skill and kids should have adequate knowledge about it to grow up as independent adults. You can encourage your kids to make their own sandwich, pour milk, or hit something in the microwave. This will make them feel more responsible and independent. Eventually, they will also learn various safety lessons like not to touch a hot pan or stove, how to use a knife correctly, etc.

Promotes healthy eating :

Many Preschool La Habra CA kids develop good eating habits while helping their parents in the kitchen. From a very early age, they learn what foods are healthy and what are not; and why they should eat healthy foods. In fact, cooking encourages them to try new foods.

Besides these, cooking boosts self-confidence, encourages family bonding, and helps you introduce your kids to various scientific concepts. So, follow the safety measures and have fun cooking with your kids.