Cooking with Children

(upbeat music) - Well, things Montessori community, happy Wednesday. Yes, I realize it is not Tuesday. I am so sorry, I didn't get the episode out yesterday. I had, I legitimately had computer issues. The editing software that I use was not working and I had to do an update and it was just not my day. So I'm so sorry and I really appreciate everybody being so, so patient. Before I get to today's episode, I just want to give a shout out to our newest patron. Thanks Maria for coming on as a patron of all things Montessori. We are so happy that you are here. If you are interested in becoming a patron of all things Montessori, you can click on the link below in the episode description and go to our Patreon page. There are different levels of what you can pledge to all things Montessori, all the funds that we get, just go towards making the podcast possible. There's a lot that goes into it and we really appreciate all the support and you can get really fun bonus content. There's some merchandise, fun things like that become a thing of patron of all things Montessori. So click below if you're interested. This episode is brought to you by Sappling Supply. They were just at the AMS Virtual Montessori event. Sappling Supply makes simple, elegant furniture for all your child's educational needs. Handmade in the US, each piece arrives at your door ready to use, no assembly required. If you want to find out more, you can check out their website at www.sappling-supply.net. And if you'd like to receive 10% off your entire order, you can use our promo code ATM10. So this week's episode, oh, it is such a favorite of mine and of Jamie's, we talk all about cooking with children. Everything that goes into it, you know, cooking with children is something, I think it's unique to Montessori, but I don't think it only exists there. I was not a Montessori child and I was always in the kitchen with my mom, even though I do talk about how I learned to cook much later in life because I became a stubborn teenager as we all do. It is, there's something beautiful about involving your child in cooking and there's so many amazing life skills, math skills, language skills, time management skills that come from cooking with children. So we talk all about how to do it in the classroom, what supplies you might need, everything. And we talk about our own experiences and really our love of cooking with children. So enjoy. Jamie, how's it going? It's gone pretty well. The weather is beautiful around here these days. How about you? Oh, it's, you know, it's good. I mean, I don't know if the weather's necessarily beautiful where I am, it's really cold and really windy. But other than that, it's, it's good. I feel like we're getting glimpses of spring, which feels very nice, very hopeful. Like something new was on the horizon, you know? Yep, yep. Yeah, it's coming and the days are getting longer, which is super nice and yeah. Yeah, I tell you, I mean, I just think that like, you know, the time that we're living in right now was hard for a lot of reasons. But winter was really tough. You know, getting dark earlier couldn't do socially distant anything outside, you know, feel weird about going inside. There's just, it was tough. So I'm looking forward to warmer weather where at least we can go outside, you know, a little bit more for walks and things like that. Totally, totally. Yeah, so today we wanted to talk about something super fun that we both love in our own lives and also really incorporated into the classroom. We want to talk all about cooking with children. Yes, we are really going to talk about cooking, not cooking children, cooking with children. You know, I think a lot of, a lot of, a lot of people, I mean, this is just an assumption that I'm making, but it's something I've heard, you know, while children are just going to make it a mess in the kitchen or I can't really get anything done if they help. And yeah, that's probably really true. It will take longer and it will be a mess, but I think there are amazing life skills to be gained and amazing experiences to be had when you involve children with cooking. Yeah, it's a, it's a wonderful experience in so many different levels. And it's a really important skill, I think, for the children. So cooking should be a vital part of a classroom, but also children's experience at home. Yeah, I mean, if you just think about preparing a meal and like setting the table, like the whole thing, right? Like the ingredients you need to get, the recipe, perhaps you need to go to the grocery store, what supplies do you need to make the meal? How many people are you serving? There's so many things that go into it. And that is incredible for their critical thinking skills and not to mention there's something really satisfying about creating a meal and doing, you know, and then serving it to someone. There's something really beautiful about that. Yeah, absolutely. And I think also too with children and with the work, you know, getting them to develop skills of cooking and baking, like it doesn't even have to be a whole meal, right? It can be one dish or one, one sort of dessert or whatever. So anything that can get them doing it. And not only do they think, not only the process of like gathering supplies and going through in the cooking, but also there's so many directions you can go in exploration with the children beyond that. You can have them start to learn and understand the economics of food in the area where they live. Like how does the food get here? Who grows it? Where did it come from? What systems are in place to get that food to you? Or you can get them to have a better understanding of local farms and agriculture. Or they could explore how our bodies use the food that we take in. And there can be all sorts of science and nutrition studies that can emerge. So there's so many ways that so many directions this can go. Beyond the food preparation itself. So it's really just so many possibilities. I know. And they're going to love it because they get to eat food probably at the end of it. So you have their attention if you're going to cook together. So let's talk a little bit about providing this opportunity in the classroom. And I'm wondering, Jamie, what you think about just the essentials materials wise to have in the classroom to be able to cook with children? Because I don't-- I mean, you don't need a full kitchen. I'm not-- I think it's impractical to think that you need a full kitchen for this. That would be great. But I think it's doable with other aspects. Would you agree? Oh, yeah. I mean, there's any number of things you can do. I mean, every school has to look at what-- what's local regulations and stuff are that to make sure that you're meeting your-- those regulations and standards, and especially right now, I know that it's probably not something that most schools are going to be doing because of COVID. Right. Of course. But so making sure of that. But when it's possible, again, I mean, there's plenty of like no bake or no cooking food preparation that children can do. But there's also-- it's easy to get like a little toaster oven in the classroom to do some baking with and some hot plates to cook on. So like a little burner to cook on. So you don't have to necessarily have a full range or a full kitchen. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, a hot pad does amazing things. I mean, you can make soup on it. It's incredible. And toaster ovens as well. I mean, it's so doable. And then if you just have some essential kitchen supplies, so some measuring spoons, measuring cups, things like that. And have them in a place in the classroom that just like any other material, you're going to keep them in the specific place. Because if you think about it, and the way it was in my classroom, and I know for you, Jamie, I mean, it can be either a community thing that you're doing together, or it can be a work that the child is doing that day. Yeah. And one thing I would highly recommend is make sure that the children know and that you store these things separate from your science materials. Oh, yes. So don't be using the same measuring cups and spoons for science that you used for cooking. Even though most of the science stuff we do is all safe, and if they ate it and wouldn't kill them. But we want to start-- We would like to establish good science practices. And so that one would be, we're not-- we're going to make sure that we don't cook with our science materials. That's a great point, Jamie. I'm so glad you reminded us all of that. I think as you're getting started with cooking with children, or if you're thinking about it, one thing to keep in mind is just simple at first. You don't need to look at something really complicated and complex. No. I mean, soup is a great starting point. And even if soup is too complicated, any kind of dips, like my students in my class really liked making guacamole. It was so fun. And we actually had a mortar and pestle that they used to mix it, which was pretty cool. But you can make pestoes. You can make ruchetta with tomatoes. You can make fresh salsa. Any of those sorts of things that are just cutting vegetables and putting them together, that's a great starting point, too. And then, of course, there's the baking of bread, which a lot of primary classrooms have. But they can continue to do that. In elementary, I remember when I had some six-year-olds coming into my class, they were just asking me so much if they could make bread. And for some reason, I thought, I don't know. Was that a primary thing? I don't know if they can make bread. And I kind of had to think about it for a second. But then I let them make bread. It was fine. But I just had to stop and think for a second. I don't know why I had that hesitation. But they missed it from their primary and they brought it in elementary. And what I found is they researched different loaves to make they got really into braiding the dough and different types of dough. So it became more complex because they were in the second plane. So they were thinking in those ways. So you did tell me about the kind of bread you guys did. So they tried to do different flowers. So we had a standard white flower. And then we would do a whole wheat. And then I actually don't eat gluten. So we had to-- well, it didn't really work out to be honest. Gluten free baking is-- that's a whole different podcast. And I don't even want to get into it. But we tried that once. It didn't really work very well. But then they would do infused doughs, so putting herbs and doughs or fruits in some of the bread dough. And then they really got into just the design. One of my favorite things they ever did-- elementary children-- they're fascinated by animals and all sorts of things. And I had a group that was really obsessed with trilabites, which is a prehistoric creature. I don't think this is uncommon for elementary children to be into these amazing creatures that used to rule the planet. But yeah, they made bread shaped like trilabites. And it was awesome. That's hilarious. I love it. I know it was amazing. Yeah, so it really just sort of-- when I was hesitant about it, just thinking, I don't know if this is appropriate for elementary, which I don't know why I thought that. But then they really took it and really put an elementary lens on it because they went on all these different directions. Yeah, and it's easy to do. I mean, you can do yeast breads that require a little more-- well, everything has to rise and all of that, but also just some quick breads, too, can work really well. And then I think about quick breads, especially if you're using a toaster oven. They-- it's even more efficient to just put them like in muffin-- in muffin tins. And it'll cook pretty quickly and effectively in a little toaster oven or convection oven. So those are great resources. I mean, cooking was a part of the culture of my classroom, quite strongly, or the school where I worked. So there was quite regularly cooking or baking going on in all the classrooms, elementary and primary. And it was always an option not just for preparing a snack or a meal, but also as a sort of-- just as a work, as a follow-up for different lessons. So cooking often happened around the study of different cultures. If the children could cook a traditional dish from that culture or that-- something from a historical dish, they really-- they really loved to have that be part of their work as well. Oh, that's awesome. That's such a great outlet and just an extension of their other work. Yeah. That's amazing. I can see how that would just really capture their attention. Yeah, so fun. So much fun. And it can get them interested in learning more about what they're learning because if the idea is that they get to cook and eat some food around it, that's super exciting. So-- Yep. But I think you talked about preparing the environment in the classroom for cooking. And I think making sure you've got space where the supplies are stored and not just the utensils that you need, but also the sort of basics of what you want to have on hand all the time-- flour, sugar, yeast, things like that that are available as if the children are doing a lot of baking or whatever. And then there's just a whole slew of presentations to prepare so that children can be successful in the work. So just like we orient them to the checkerboard, and then we start with naming, getting them to be able to read numbers on the checkerboard and understand the value. We have all these series of little steps to help them become ready to just use the checkerboard for long multiplication. The same is true for cooking or baking. There's a series of sort of preliminary lessons and experiences we need to give them so that they can be successful because we can't assume that, whether you know anything, I'll never forget my first-- no second, maybe second or third year of teaching. And I always did a camping trip with the children every year. And on the camping trip, all the children, they have different small groups of children that are responsible for cooking every meal. So everybody gets to cook a meal when we're away on the trip. And the morning-- one morning, we cleaned up breakfast, and the lunch committee was getting lunches ready because we were going to be gone all day, and we had to pack some sack lunches. So they were making sandwiches. And this one little guy on this one little six-year-old-- maybe he was seven by then. It was the end of the year. And I just hadn't known. He was trying to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and he's holding the knife in his fist. And he's digging it into the peanut butter and making a big mess, and then just destroying the bread while he tries to spread it. And I felt so bad for him, and I felt like it was like, oh my gosh, I haven't helped him develop the skills he needs to be able to do this successfully. That was a big oversight on my part. I should have made sure he knew how to spread peanut butter on bread. And he didn't. I assumed he didn't, and that was-- we of course can't ever assume anything. And so I showed him how to do that. But that's the same kind of thing that has to happen in the classroom, right? That you can't assume that they've had these experiences, even though I'm sure been around cooking and baking and things. So you want to show them. You want to show them how you fill a measuring cup. You want to show-- with a dry ingredients, you want to show them how you do it with a wet ingredient. You want to show them how to hold a knife. You want to show how to use a knife, how to use a knife for different types of materials. What does it mean to whisk something? I love that shit's creek episode, where they're cooking. And she's-- Oh my god, folded. And she's like, what does "fold" mean? What on earth? But like-- I know, right? Like that's-- that's like what the-- Good. --with the chin. You know, we can't assume they're going to know the language of cooking and baking. So if you haven't done a lot of cooking and baking in the classroom and you're excited to try, I really encourage you to step back and really break it down. I mean, you don't want it to be boring for them, but you want to break it down so that they can learn the skills and you might do more of it for them, because they'll also learn from watching you. You know, those mirror neurons that we have, they do fire. You know, that means that when we watch someone do something, that part of our brain that would be-- that would fire when we do it is firing. So having them watch for the parts that they don't know how to do yet is really valuable and important. So I think I've seen teachers jump into cooking and baking with children without thinking through a lot of this, and then it can be maybe mildly frustrating. And best and-- And messy. Yeah, so it's just something to sort of-- just something to sort of consider as you're thinking about doing it. And the parameters around it in the classroom, too. If I-- I never had a kitchen really in the schools I worked in. And so all the cooking took place in our classroom with hot plates and things like that. And so you just have to set some guidelines and parameters around that like you do for anything. Like you do for the watercolors in your classroom. Anything that is going to take up a little more space than the reccent tubes on a table or whatever. Yeah, and I also-- I think it's so important to show them these kitchen and life skills. Because I think a lot of people-- I've known in my life, later in life, there can be a lot of insecurities around the kitchen. Because perhaps you didn't learn when you were younger or then you feel like you can't learn now because you're an adult and you're too old. So you just don't cook. You don't even try. And I think introducing that at a really young age, is something as simple as this is what a tablespoon is. Or this is how you fill a measuring cup. Or this is how you drain something. This is how you whisk. I mean, they are very simplistic in nature, but it can make someone feel really small if they don't know that and they're an adult. So I think it's such a gift to show children when they're young. Yeah. Well, and I've worked with a lot of adults over the last 12 years, and I cook with all of them. And there are plenty of adults who don't have these skills. So if you're one of those who don't have experience with a lot of experience with cooking and you want to bring it to children, the fun is that you can learn alongside them. And there's great video resources to support you in learning a lot of these skills. You can find things that are going to guide you through step-by-step how to do something. And cooking and baking is something truly that you really learn with experience and you get better at knowing the details of it with the more that you do. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's really trial and error because if it tastes bad or maybe something got burnt or something didn't turn out, then you're seeing the result right there. It's you do get better and better with time. And if you are new to it, what better way to learn than alongside children who are so forgiving and are also learning it at the same time. So it's a really beautiful, beautiful experience. I myself did not learn how to cook until I was 21. My mom and my sister are amazing cooks. And I just was super intimidated growing up and I love them so much and they tried to teach me. But I guess I was stubborn. So I was living at college over the summer and I didn't have any money. So I had to learn how to cook, you know, cheaper food. And that's how I learned to cook. But yeah, it's intimidating. And there's a lot to learn. And I consider myself a good cook now, but it took, I don't know, 10 years. You know, it takes a while to really be at a place where you feel confident with it. So definitely it takes time. And I think it's great to have that perspective because that's how the children feel. Because they're excited and it's food and it's fun. But also, you know, they are little humans that are trying to, you know, they're self-constructing there so much going on there that it's gonna be, it'll give them a boost of confidence to have those skills. And then to present it to their friends or, you know, maybe you have parents in the classroom or you give a tray of biscuits to a neighboring classroom. It's just, it's so beautiful. And one of my favorite things. - It's so fun. And there's so many other skills that can be tied along with it. So like my younger daughter, I remember she was struggling to really get fractions for whatever reason. And she, but she loved to bake. So we just started doubling and having recipes all the time to be, to like practice with the fractions. And I use that also with a friend of ours who's struggled with ratios but love to bake and baking's all about ratios. So you can, you know, you can make various things based on the ratios. And there's chemistry involved. And there's, I mean, there's just so many options for further study or connections to other things that it's really valuable. And I think too, if you can build a culture of cooking in the classroom and then periodically have a classroom community meal, that also really helps to build the community and helps children to really have this, you know, kind of this precious time of eating together. We live in a busy, busy world where sometimes people don't take the time to sit down and eat a meal together. And so doing that sometimes in the classroom is just a great way of building community and connection amongst the children. And even with, you know, you can do it with all your families too. I've, we cooked a Thanksgiving feast a few years in my classroom and had all the parents and siblings and everybody come. I remember we crammed 100 people in my classroom and we cooked a Thanksgiving meal for 100 people. That's so fun. And the kids love it. Yeah, it's so fun to serve and to connect over food. So, Oh, absolutely. That's been some of my favorite times with the parent community and the children the school, you know, the classroom community. It becomes like a ritual tradition. You know, it becomes that, you know, we talk about the legacy of your classroom or the lore of your classroom. Like it just becomes like something that, you know, that is just a part of the bones of your community and it's beautiful. And yeah, I mean, a lot of people don't sit down and have a conversation without the television on or like, you know, who knows what? Everything is crazy, you know, everybody's running around. So it's, it's truly a gift to do that. And I found that when, when I would have parents come in the classroom for these meals, they were totally blown away by like, oh, this is edible. Oh, this is really good, actually. Or, you know, they were always just really, really pleased and in love that it was a part of the classroom. Yeah. Yeah, it's a, it's a great community builder, yeah, even beyond just, even beyond just the classroom. Yeah. And so at home, it's a useful, I really encourage, always encouraged parents with elementary children to really increase their responsibilities in the food preparation at home. So always, I mean, I always encourage parents to have their children make their own lunches or participate in making their own lunches. So that, you know, like my kids have been doing that since they were two and a half. But then, and you, you know, you support them as you, as they grow, you know, in doing that. Of course. But then in the, as far as in the elementary, like you can work up to giving them responsibility for cooking a meal every week for the family. And also then even layering in the budgeting and grocery shopping responsibility. We have, you know, $30 for meals this weekend or whatever. You know, you can have that be part of their experience as well and they get practice with understanding how to shop and effectively get the food they need. And the best thing to do is, you know, just be working alongside them so that they can learn from you and learn those skills and then ultimately have the independence to be able to do cooking all on their own. So it just, it's, it's, I don't know, it creates this sort of mentality of how can I help, you know, at home, like how can I help with dinner or how can I, what can I do or what can I provide it? It, you know, it creates that we're all on this together, you know, creating a meal together doesn't fall on, you know, the mom or the dad or whatever. You know, and why don't you get the salad together? Making a salad is not complicated. You know, you've got to, you have to cut things and you've got to know what goes in the salad. Like you shouldn't put like bananas and kale together, maybe. You know what I mean? There are definitely some stepping stones to get there. And it can start simply, but I love that idea of, you know, working up to, you know, your elementary age childhood home, creating a whole meal. Like that's, that's so amazing. And how great would that, would that be? And I found that, you know, elementary children just really they like food preparation and cooking. And I think that's a real possibility. So, you know, it can start simply with, I'll take this portion, that's how it always was in my house. Like, you know, I'll make the salad dressing or I'll make the rice or, you know, segmenting different pieces or also the table or I'll clean up, you know, just all be all pitching in for the same thing. And that's, that's family time. I mean, I know everybody is on like, we're having a lot of family time this year. But it's still an amazing thing to introduce into your home. - Yeah. And to just have it be part of the home culture and helping them work up to, because the biggest thing about preparing a meal that's really challenging is getting everything to come out at the same time. - Oh yeah. - And that takes a lot of, a lot of practice and knowing sort of intuitively the different aspects. So that, you know, yeah, working alongside them in the kitchen is really, you're helping them get a, a skill that's gonna be useful for them in life. You're helping them understand what it takes to prepare a meal so that they can have a better sense of gratitude for those who do food prep for them. And, you know, a greater connection to their food and an understanding of it. I mean, yeah, it's just a wonderful, wonderful experience. And then when you're getting teenagers, you know, they can make meals for you on a regular basis and things, you know, it's a great experience and tons of fun in the classroom. So, yeah, absolutely. I'm actually, I'm just thinking, I'm not a teenager anymore, obviously, but I'm cooking my mom dinner tonight for her birthday. - Aw. - So, yeah, I mean, but she, you know, I've been inspired by hers a cook my whole life and then I, you know, taught myself to cook. So I was too stubborn to learn from her classic. And now it's sort of like paying it forward later in life. And that's, that is the beauty of cooking and food in family. So it's all good and delicious and fun. And we cannot, you know, we can't encourage it more. - Yeah, have fun. - And share, you know, share any cooking successes you've had or things that you've enjoyed or you've had. - Oh, yes. And yes, any recipes too. I'm always looking for new, fun recipes that are, you know, simple and relatively healthy to try out with children. So yes, please share. We would love to see and hear. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)