Grab your aprons and clear the kitchen counter, it’s time to make something tasty with your Tiny Chef! Spending time in the kitchen with your little one is fun, fosters invaluable life skills, and makes memories.
Benefits of baking
Math & Reading Skills
Following a recipe together introduces new words to your kiddos’ vocabulary and is a great time to practice reading skills. The building blocks of basic math come into play when you are measuring ingredients and you can practice counting like the number of eggs or how many cookies dough balls you’ve made as you place them on the baking sheet.
Fine Motor Skills
Baking is an excellent opportunity to work on your little one’s fine motor skills in a fun environment, like their grasp strength and hand-eye coordination! As you spend more time in the kitchen together, they’ll get to practice a whole bunch of things that help their fine motor skills. Stirring, pouring ingredients into a bowl, using a rolling pin, kneading dough, and so many more actions all have a positive impact on their development.
Sense of Self
Grow your child’s confidence when they show off their new skills and inspire feelings of self-sufficiency when they accomplish a new task. Plus, it helps that there’s a tasty treat resulting from their hard work! You’re setting your kiddo up for success, fostering a sense of experimentation, and building confidence in the kitchen, which are all important as they grow up and can understand the value of making things from scratch!
Bonding
Our favorite part? Getting to spend quality time with our little sprouts! Creating a positive environment for learning new kitchen skills is a recipe for making memories and strengthening your bond with the kiddo.
Set yourself up for success
The key is to give your little one tasks that fit their skill level and their interests. And let’s be real, baking gets messy! The goal is to teach your little one valuable life skills (hopefully including cleanup). You know your little sprout best, the goal is to make time in the kitchen a fun, positive experience for both of you so that they grow up with positive associations with spending time in the kitchen.
When in doubt, follow the Sprout Organics motto: Keep it real, keep it simple, keep it fun.
What’s in the oven?
Holiday breaks can mean extra time at home, and what better way to spend it than enjoying homemade treats. ‘Tis the season for some freshly baked cookies!
Here are some recipes we love:
The Most Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Sugar Cookies for Toddlers
Peanut Butter Cookies in 15 minutes
Edible Cookie Dough Perfect for Experimenting
Citations
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cooking-preschool.html
http://extension.msstate.edu/content/sweet-development-holiday-baking-toddlers-and-preschoolers
