We love cooking at Shaws Preschool! Serina Teo, Curriculum Specialist at Shaws Preschool shares why, and some easy recipes you can try at home with your kids! Food usually agrees with most children, and here are two easy and yummy recipes, to help keep them learning and having fun. Why cook when you can buy? Because it’s a delicious way to learn! Through cooking, children learn about:-
- counting
- measurement
- estimation
- reading
- following instructions, and
- creative problem solving.
For the younger children, it’s a delicious way for them to:-
- exercise fine motor skills,
- hand-eye coordination (stirring, pouring, scooping & cutting), and
- exposure to different types of food.
With your supervision and assistance with hot work, your child will be able prepare and enjoy the following for snack.
No Cook Jam
Ingredients: 1 packet of frozen berries of your choice, chia seeds (1-2 tbsps), honey and lemon juice. Equipment: Mixing bowl, potato masher / sieve, metal spoon, food processor (optional) How to: Mash up the slightly thawed frozen berries in the mixing bowl with the potato masher or push the berries through a sieve. Then, add in the chia seeds. Depending on you child’s preference, add in lemon juice and honey. If you have a food processor, you can put everything in for a good blitz and then keep it over night, for the chia seeds to be hydrated. This will bind the jam well. Not putting it into the food processor will work just fine too.
French Toast
Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1-2 tsp sugar (optional), 2-3 slices of bread, 1 tbsp butter, some olive oil. Equipment: Large cookie cutters, mixing bowl, whisk / fork, frying pan and spatula. How to: Crack the 2 eggs into the mixing bowl, and add in the sugar. Whisk the egg mixture well. Decide on the choice of cookie cutter to use, or simply cut the bread into 4 pieces (square or triangle). Soak the bread into the egg mixture and then fry the bread (by adult) over medium heat. When both sides are nicely browned, remove from frying pan. Serve with the No-cook jam made earlier!