Cooking for Kids with Luis
May 6th, 2006 by Andrea | Print This Post
The whole cooking with kids theme has become really big, which I think is spot on. My husband and I both believe that cooking is an essential life skill, and we are teaching our children from an early age. Children learn about reading, math, science, and health and safety simply by cooking with you.
My little boys love to be in the kitchen with me, but I’m a little concerned about sharp knives and a hot stove with a preschooler and a toddler, so I put a big plastic box in the kitchen and filled it with an assortment of cheap plastic bowls, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoons, and old potholders and oven mits. My boys drag them all out onto the kitchen table and mix and cook while I’m whipping up dinner. My preschooler loves to put a little water in the bowls and pour it back and forth, stirring while he goes. Then he puts it all in their oven—the open space under the table—and bakes it. Although we do have to work on the whole thing about what cookware is appropriate for various uses (plastic in the oven is not such a good idea), I’m thrilled that he’s showing an interest. And as they get older, we’ll try age-appropriate things with them and expose them more and more to the world of food and cooking.
When we first saw one of the shorts Cooking for Kids with Luis on Noggin, we were enthralled. Watching this young boy who seemed so at ease in the kitchen and in front of the camera was fascinating. He demonstrates how to make Guatemalan Cheesecake, Empanadas, Fruit Kebabs, and Tortilla Frenzy, all the while talking about how food is fun, tasty, and healthy. He emphasizes kitchen safety and an adult helps him with things like turning on the oven. And lately the network has done an excellent job of providing information about education goals for each program on the website as well as before each program airs. So you can check out the education goals for Luis’ program on the website. The list includes goals from Physical Science; Technology; Mathematics; Social Sciences; and Health, Physical Education, and Safety.
If you have young children and have not seen Luis on Noggin, check out the website to read more about the program and print some of Luis’ recipes to try with your children.
