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Cross-Curricular Kitchen Lessons

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Today I want to talk about schooling in the kitchen. I have some ideas for focus on Cross-Curricular Kitchen Lessons.  The kitchen is one of the best places for hands-on home learning.  As a former home-economics teacher I love bringing my kids into the kitchen with me.  Cooking is an essential life skill, but there is so much more to learn than just the skill of cooking. In the kitchen you can learn health and nutrition, science, math, safety, and sanitation, history & geography, even language arts!  Start teaching you kids kitchen skills early by letting them help out in the kitchen while they are still young.

cooking with kids- kitchen lessons

Cooking With Kids:

Children learn by using all of their senses and cooking definitely brings in all of the senses- touching, tasting, feeling, smelling, and listening. Children enjoy eating foods they help prepare. There are so many simple recipes that older kids can make on their own.  Just make sure they wash their hands!

 

Here are some ways to let them be involved:
Scrubbing and peeling vegetables and fruits
Wiping tables and counters
Tearing lettuce
Pouring ingredients into a batter
Mixing batter and other foods
Spreading peanut butter on bread
Kneading bread dough
Juicing oranges, lemons, and limes
Mashing soft fruits and vegetables
Measuring dry and liquid ingredients
Rolling out dough
Help planning meals
Gathering ingredients for recipes

Nutrition Lessons in the Kitchen:

Kids can learn so much about health and nutrition by helping in the kitchen.  You can teach them about eating a balanced meal.  You can model good health and teach them by example.  (See my visual recipe post!)

 

I created a whole kids nutrition unit a few months back.  You can see it in this post.

nutrition-unit

Math Kitchen Lessons:

Math is a huge part of cooking.  You have to know a little about fractions to be able to read and carry out a recipe.  I remember when I was teaching foods classes, the kids who did not have a firm grasp on fractions really struggled with recipe reading.  I have started teaching my kids fractions at a young age so they can understand the concept. Also, be sure to teach them about measuring cups and spoons so they understand what they are.

More ideas for math in the kitchen:

  • Metric measurements & conversions -most liquid measuring cups have the metric measurements on the cups
  • Doubling or halving a recipe
  • Basic fractions using measuring cups- let them play around & measure dried beans.
  • Measuring equivalents (How many tablespoons in a cup, cups in a pint, quart, gallon, etc.)

Science Kitchen Lessons:

There is so much science happening in the kitchen.  You can really have fun with this!!  Think of all of the reactions that happen while baking.  We all know about baking soda and vinegar, but there is so much more.  Why do we use eggs, oil, or baking soda in cookies, cakes, or muffins.  What would happen if any of these things were left out?  Try it out and see… Who knew there was so much chemistry involved in baking?  I took a whole class on it in college- it is so fascinating!!!

There are HUNDREDS of simple exerpiments you can do with basic kitchen ingredients.

We did a fun experiment for baking a cake HERE.  Also see our Apple Science experiment and our experiment to Turn Juice into a Solid! 

Kitchen Chemistry

  • What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?  What would happen if you switched them in a recipe?  There is a great experiment and detailed description HERE.
  • What makes a cookie flat and crunchy vs. soft & chewy?   Find out all the answers on THIS site.
  • There is a whole section of cooking and baking science project experiments on THIS site.
  • Learn about the states of matter- solids, liquids and gasses.
  • Learn about temperature- Fahrenheit & Celsius
  • Why do we need heat in cooking?  What does it do to our food?
  • Show you kids what happens whet you beat egg whites.

Geography Kitchen Lessons:

  • Learn where your food comes from- print a map and mark on the map where your produce comes from (it is on the little stickers!)
  • Learn the ethnic origin of different meals.
  • Cook ethnic meals from around the world while you study them.  

We love the book Eat Your Way Around the World! 

51STTLyza4L

History Kitchen Lessons:

When did we start eating different types of foods? Visit the Food Timeline website to learn more about it.
Learn how foods are made/grown (There are many online/virtual factory tours you can take)
What were typical meals in the time period you are studying in history? Make meals from that time period.

Safety & Sanitation Kitchen Lessons:

There is so much that can go wrong when cooking that it is very important to teach kids about the hazards of cooking as well.  Sanitation and safety are both very important topics for them to learn.

Sanitation is not just about hand washing.  Kids need to learn the importance of keeping their cooking space clean and sanitary.  They also need to learn the basics of food handling. It is important to wash produce.  Teach them about raw meats and the need to clean hands and the cooking area you work with while handling them. Keep raw meats away from fresh foods. Teach them the importance of refrigeration and the shelf-life of foods.

Safety issues can include handling knives (you can determine when you feel your kids are able to use knives safely), using the stove, microwave cooking (no metal in the microwave), keeping flammable items away from the stove, how to put out a grease fire (sprinkling baking soda on it).

$ Food Safety Booklet

I wrote a little mini book for kids on Safety and Sanitation. It’s available in my shop.

Language Arts Kitchen Lessons:

Even language arts can be taught in the kitchen!  Kids can practice their reading skills by learning to read a recipe.  Get out a cookbook and let them read through it to find something that looks good to them, then let them help you make it.  Let them help you figure out what ingredients you need and teach them where to find them in the kitchen.

Help your kids start their own recipe file box.  They can copy their favorite recipes onto index cards and keep adding to them as the years go on.  This is something valuable that they can take with them when they go to college or move away from home someday.

They can learn new vocabulary words in the kitchen. Teach them recipe terms. Make a food notebook of recipe terms.  Many cookbooks have a glossary of cooking terms in the front or back to help you in reading a recipe.

Above all, have fun in the kitchen with your kids.  You are teaching them valuable skills that will last a lifetime.  The foods you make and the time you spend doing it with them and for them will last with them forever.  You are making memories!

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11 Comments

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Comments

  1. Sarah Avila says

    March 12, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    I took the same approach with my post! I absolutely love your graphic at the top with all the subjects listed!! Pinned this!!!

    Reply
  2. Keri at Growing in His Glory says

    March 14, 2013 at 3:41 pm

    This is excellent! I am pinning this for my girls. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  3. Phyllis says

    March 17, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    We love kitchen-schooling, too!

    Reply
  4. Jackie P says

    March 17, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    Great ideas! I especially love the activity for having your child start a recipe box. This is definitely something they will use for the rest of their life, and they can pass it down to their child.

    I follow a neat blog about nutrition and cooking with kids. She usually includes hands-on ideas and activities. Here is the link: http://nutritionforhealthykids.blogspot.com/

    Joyfully,
    Jackie

    Reply
  5. Ticia says

    March 17, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    Cooking really can teach you so many things, not just how to cook!

    Thanks for linking up to Science Sunday

    Reply
  6. HearMyHands says

    March 18, 2013 at 8:28 pm

    very clever!

    Reply
  7. Janine LaTulippe says

    March 18, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    Wow! I didn’t think of teaching geography or history in the kitchen. Great ideas! Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library.

    Reply
  8. Hannah White says

    March 19, 2013 at 5:46 pm

    Isn’t it amazing all that emcompasses “learning and educating”!!

    Thanks for sharing with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday! Hope you join us again today! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/flip-trainer-review-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html

    Reply
  9. asimplelifetoo says

    September 17, 2013 at 4:07 am

    That is smart to cross teaching the children to cook with academic lessons. I have written my first Home Ec, Beginning Cookin book and I included some ideas to dig deeper, but I didn’t think about crossing it with history, math, etc… and make it more academic. Very cool!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids - Teach Beside Me says:
    October 18, 2013 at 8:00 am

    […] Cross-Curricular Kitchen Lessons Cabbage Juice Science Does it Dissolve? Cleaning Pennies Candy Experiments from Mamas Like Me Gummy Bear Science from Teach Preschool Edible Mars Rock from The Fairy and the Frog Dissolving, Expanding & Bouncing Eggs from Blue Bear Wood 50 Kitchen Science Activities from Science Sparks Candy Cane Science Experiment from Preschool Powol Packets […]

    Reply
  2. Thanks. Giving. A Perspective on Both from a Teacher and Nutrition & Health Coach | mysuperfoods says:
    November 25, 2013 at 9:59 am

    […] For starters, get children involved!  Whether it be helping to shop for everything that will be prepared, cooking in the kitchen, decorating the table, or making fun crafts, include the kids.  Be clear on directions and make it fun.  Break tasks down into simple steps, and even use pictures for them to follow if reading is not mastered yet.  It is amazing how much you can teach a child when cooking together in the kitchen.  You can practice counting, colors, measuring, multiplying and dividing, letter recognition, word association, compare/contrast, creative thinking….the list goes on.  Patience is key, so see what things you can prepare in advance so you don’t have to contend with the pressures of time on Thanksgiving day.  Check out this awesome list of ideas here by https://www.teachbesideme.com: https://teachbesideme.com/cross-curricular-kitchen-lessons/ […]

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Karyn.
I am a former teacher turned homeschool mom of four kids. I LOVE teaching! I believe learning should be enjoyable and engaging. My goal is to ease the burdens of educators by offering memorable learning activities.
Questions? Contact me here: karyn@teachbesideme.com
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