Involve Me and I Learn...

Do you involve your kids in the kitchen?  I know I know… I've been there too… There are so many reasons why we just do it ourselves. There’s not enough time. They make such a mess. I’m too tired when I get home. It’s easier if I just do it myself. The list goes on and on. On the other hand, however, there are many awesome lessons kids learn from cooking and learning to clean up afterwards is definitely one of them. With a little planning, some extra patience and some enthusiasm, cooking with kids can be fun and rewarding for both kids and parents.  

So, you’re probably asking, “What is it that kids learn from cooking, besides the obvious, how to cook or make a mess?” (Side note: This is another thing I wish I had learned when my kids were little.) The list of why you should involve kids with cooking is way longer than the list of why we don’t. They learn about nutrition and healthy eating, how heat and cold change things, concepts of volume and measure, vocabulary, how to read and follow directions, how to try new foods, life skills, teamwork, planning and fine motor skills.  As if those things aren’t enough, add to the list that it boosts their self esteem, creates bonding family time, memories and it’s fun! They are enjoying it so much that they don’t even realize how much they’re learning.  That’s the beauty of it!  

·         Nutrition - It is so important that kids learn good nutrition and healthy eating.  Fast food and junk food is much too readily available today.  It is everywhere we look and relentlessly advertised on television.  This is undoubtedly a large part of why childhood obesity has been on the rise and has become a serious topic of discussion in our schools, government and in the media.  Kids are more likely to experiment with unfamiliar foods if they’ve helped to prepare them. The only way to ensure that your kids are eating healthy foods is to prepare them yourself.  Involving them in the process will help instill healthy habits that they will carry with them throughout their lives.

·         Science - How heat and cold change things, or the physical properties of matter and changes in matter are just part of the science lessons kids learn from cooking.  They also learn observation, measuring, and predicting.  These are all skills necessary for the countless science projects they will be doing in school.

·         Math – The list of math skills alone are invaluable for children.  They learn basic skills like counting and sorting. The not so basic skills of measuring, fractions, sequencing (following the recipe, what comes 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd) , weighing  and measuring, shapes, colors and problem solving (if something goes wrong.)

·         Literacy – Kids are expanding their vocabulary through learning new words when they cook. They are improving their reading skills and learning left to right progression, word and letter identification and reading for information. 

·         Life Skills – What a great investment of your time to ensure that kids will know how to make dinner for the family when they are teenagers.  Teaching them when they are young also ensures they will have the ability to prepare their own meals when they are out on their own and not have to depend on fast food.

·         Teamwork – Teamwork in action is a beautiful thing!  Learning to Work together with parents and or siblings to create something in the kitchen and get the job done is a valuable lesson for kids to learn and take with them into adulthood.

·           Planning – When you involve kids in the kitchen, they will learn about planning a menu, make choices about various ingredients, how to plan their time, basic meal preparation and the different stages of cooking.

·         Fine Motor Skills – Cooking helps kids develop their fine motor skills and hand strength through chopping, whisking, kneading, pouring, peeling and rolling.  As an added benefit, pouring helps to develop eye hand coordination. 

The list of benefits from involving kids in cooking goes on! Imagine the boost to their self esteem when kids feel that they are accomplishing a task and contributing to the family.  I know I love it when a recipe I make turns out great and my family compliments me on it.  The memories you will make with your kids are priceless as your bond with them is strengthened and you are having fun doing it.  These are memories they will take with them as they grow and have families of their own to make memories with. 

It might be a little messier and maybe take a little longer to get the meal to the table, but when you change your perspective on involving kids in the kitchen by looking at how much they actually learn, it is easy to see that the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience.  It’s no secret that kids learn a lot from hands on experience. They have been pretending to cook in dramatic play centers and pulling out the pots and pans in your kitchen at home.  So as tempting as it may be to just do it yourself, let them help! Involve them in what you are doing in the kitchen and the learning that will take place in the process will be nothing short of amazing.  

          

            Until Next time…..

                                                            Never stop learning!

                                                                                                            Ms. Liz J

P. S. I am excited that we have incorporated “Cool Cooking” into our program at our child care center.  Right now I am loving the website Super Healthy Kids 

 http://www.superhealthykids.com/index.php 

They have a huge collection of super healthy recipes, meal planning, printables, resources a gluten free section and so much more.  Check them out for some super healthy options.

Also, check out this article for more information on cooking with preschoolers.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/cooking_preschool.html

Sorry About The Mess, But We Are Learning Here...

SORRY about the MESS, but we are LEARNING here….

Do children learn from play?

For most of my children’s lives, I have been a working mom. On my way to work, I dropped them off at day care (that’s what we called it back in the day) and picked them up on my way home.  Then it was homework, dinner, dishes, baths, stories and bed, it was  a balancing act for sure, but that is a topic for another blog.

I was one of those parents that said, “I want my child to learn things, not just play.” Or, I would ask during an interview with a Center Director, “Do you teach them letters and numbers here or do they just play?”  When I went back to school to study Early Childhood Education, I was shocked and amazed to find out how much children actually learn through play.  Could this be true? How come no one ever told me these things?  Don’t get me wrong, I still think school readiness is important, but it was hard to argue with the research children need to have certain “pre” skills before what adults characteristically think of as “learning” can take place. 

Take blocks for example, you may be surprised at how much children learn from block play.  When children play with blocks, cars and trucks, they not only learn concepts of shape, size, length location…(spatial awareness) which are all reading and math skills, they also learn to create and repeat patterns, another math skill.  They learn to exercise their imagination, explain ideas, cooperate with others, to solve problems, and to see themselves from a different perspective, as if they were a giant.  When children play with blocks, they are developing socially, physically, intellectually and creatively.

On a social level, blocks encourage children to work together in a group, cooperate and even make friends. When playing with blocks, children can use their imagination to come up with unique designs or build objects that they see in real life like cars, planes or tall buildings. Children learn to share and work together to solve problems.

On a physical level, reaching for blocks and fitting them together helps children build strength in their fingers and hands and increase eye hand coordination.  Block play helps 2 year olds develop their sense of which shapes will fit where and to understand different perspectives.  These skills will help them to read maps and follow directions when they are older.  For Kindergartners and School Age children, block play helps develop skills in design, visual representation, stability and balance.

Intellectually, Blocks are so great for children to develop across just about every academic subject.  Young children develop their vocabularies by describing their creations.  By grouping adding, subtracting and eventually multiplying with blocks preschoolers and kindergartners are developing math skills. Older children experiment with gravity, balance and even geometry.

On a creative level, the possibilities are positively endless.  Block play offers children the opportunity to make their own designs and take pride in their creations.  They use blocks for pretend play and become actors in their own large block structures.  Children love to create the “tallest towers in the world”, knocking them down and building them again, teaching them cause and effect.

So you see, while it may look like they are just playing and the room may be a complete mess, they are actually having fun while learning a wide variety of skills that they will need later on life. 

Check out this article for more information on children and play!

http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/10-things-every-parent-should-know-about-play

Until Next time,

                        Never stop learning…

                                                      Miss Liz J

Little People Big Minds - Introduction

"You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say." 

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Who am I and why am I writing this blog?

          I have read that the way to start an introductory blog post is with a quote or a question.  In true over-achiever form, I thought I would do both. My name is Elizabeth De La Luz, also known as Miss. Liz.  I am a wife, mother of three (four because I count my son-in-law) and a recent business owner of The Kiddie Kollege - Norco Early Education Center, a preschool and before and after school program for children ages 2-12.  I live with my husband who is the co-owner of our business, our two sons, one in college, one a senior in high school and our horse, Chester in beautiful Norco, California (Horsetown USA). My daughter, (who is the inspiration for this blog) is a college graduate, recently got married and has left the nest.

         

I have worked in Early Childhood Education for the past 14 years, mostly in an administrative capacity.  I often refer to myself as a “late bloomer” because in search of a more active career and lifestyle, I decided to go back to school in my late forties (also inspired by my daughter) to pursue my degree in this field.  On my journey, I have discovered that I have a passion for working with children and I am fascinated by the way they learn.

 As for why I am writing this blog, I suppose I have much to say about the way children learn.  The purpose of this blog is to create awareness about how kids learn and to inspire active participation in the process. This will be a weekly blog with topics such as, topics that focus on how children learn and the best way we as parents and teachers can enhance their experience.  I am passionate about intentional teaching and sharing the valuable information I have learned and continue to learn with parents, grandparents and anyone else involved in the care and education of children.  

In this busy life, sometimes we forget that kids are actually little people with thoughts, feelings and opinions.  It's up to us as parents and teachers to do everything we can to cultivate the best environments and opportunities we can in order to grow their minds for when they are big.

 Until next time,

Never stop learning…

                                                                   Miss Liz J

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