Children love to help in the kitchen. It can be great fun for both kids and adults to cook together to create something delicious. While you are having fun together in the kitchen, you can sneak in something else: learning. This is a perfect opportunity to help them build other skills, such as reading, math, science, even social studies!

Of course, kids will be learning about nutrition while they help in the kitchen. Because they are taking a more active role in the process, they can begin to make choices about the foods they eat. Let them make meal plans occasionally. You can work with them to encourage healthy choices.

Children learn to follow directions while reading recipes. They must read and understand the sequence and activities within the recipe. Have them read the recipe to you while you do the cooking. Next time, trade places.

Reading skills are improved through cooking. One secret to reading is “practice, practice, practice,” so let your child read recipes, package information, and other things you find around the kitchen.

Very young kids can use kitchen time to improve motor skills. Stirring, scrubbing, pouring, mashing and spreading help those tiny hands develop fine motor skills.

Certainly math is required for cooking. Kids can count cups added to a bowl. Older kids can learn about fractions as you add one-third, two-thirds cup of flour to the mixing bowl. My own daughter is learning about volume right now, so we use kitchen time to estimate volume and convert cups and pints to quarts and gallons.

If you are so inclined, the kitchen can become a science lab when you bake a cake or cookies. You and your child can see how ingredients change with the addition of heat. Kids can learn about evaporation, boiling and melting points.

Your kids can learn about other cultures when you prepare foods from various cultural groups. Your child can even plan a themed dinner, including food appropriate to a certain culture and perhaps music as well.

Spending time in the kitchen with your kids is a wise investment. Not only will they learn to cook, but they can pick up lots of other useful skills that will help them in life.

Barbara O’Brien is an author, cook and mother of two young chefs. She enjoys helping other people make the most of time in the kitchen with their kids. Find safety tips, recipes and more at http://kids-cook.com

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