by Ruth Storkel
We’re quickly moving into August now and realizing we still have time for a few more projects and fun activities with our children before Fall arrives.
I have been getting some new ideas about “Cooking with Kids” online, looking at videos from various companies that provide cooking activities for children. Watching these can inspire you and help you plan for the next few weeks.
I spoke with my older granddaughter Elli about the experiences she had several years ago (she was then 11) after she enrolled in an online Cooking Course with “Galileo.” She signed up for this class during the bleakness of covid. The Galileo class added a lot of fun to her life at that time. She learned to cook:
Day 1: Mini Cheesecakes
Day 2: Vanilla Cupcakes
Day 3: Apple Fruit Compote
Day 4: Cream Puffs
Day 5: Crepes
The best part was that she gained new baking skills and continued cooking these things long after the class was over!
There was a charge for this 5-day class. Each student was sent a recipe book, the “Delectable Desserts Recipe Book,” which included all the recipes and good directions, a shopping list, and an equipment list.
At Galileo, they encourage the children to be innovative, try new ideas, be inventive, and be “visionaries” (as they said in their Primo Pancake Video: “Think outside the pancake box.”)
The Galileo videos are fun, easy to follow, and entertaining while teaching new skills to kids. They also have summer camps in our area and other areas of our country.
One short video offered was “Kitchen Safety for Kids .” Instructor Aubrea discussed dressing for safety while working in the kitchen, hygiene, cleaning the workspace, safe knife handling, and safety practices with kitchen equipment (oven, stove, microwave, and toaster oven).
I viewed a “Primo Pancakes” video that told how to transform a basic pancake into a “Primo Pancake.”
Included were some “lists”:
Page 1: Basic batter ingredients, including some extra add-in options for more variety in the basic pancake
Page 2: Pancake cooking directions
Page 3: An evaluation page that included “tasting notes. The young chef can evaluate their food with smell, taste, and texture tests. Wrapping up the experience, they are encouraged to write down new ideas and notes for future “Primo Pancakes” they’d like to make.
Several other fun Galileo cooking videos offered are “Food Sculptors” and “Courageous Muffins.”
It’s fun to explore the world of Cooking with Kids and see what the possibilities are. We can all use some new direction and inspiration now and then. Upon doing some online exploring, I found these sites, which have lots of ideas for teaching children cooking:
1. America’s Test Kitchen Kids (ages 5+)
3. The Dynamite Shop (ages 7-17)
4. Tiny Chefs
6. Realfood4kids.com (early childhood and above)
7. surlatable.com (classes for kids and adults)
These are a few ideas; I’m sure you can find even more, if you desire.
As a parent, nanny, and teacher, I have had numerous enjoyable experiences teaching children to cook. They are usually eager and filled with enthusiasm! I have found working with them to be tremendously rewarding and delightful.
“What did you think of the Galileo Class?” I asked Elli. “It was fun!” she said. She is a very creative, artistic young lady, so I have a feeling it was “just her cup of tea!”
