Sensory Saturday: In the Kitchen

I know there are a hundred articles about cooking with your kids, but I figured I'd put a sensory spin on this one. From homemade pretzels to fruit smoothies, my kids love to cook. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your time in the kitchen.

LOOK THE PART:
Besides having fun playing dress up, giving LM an apron and chef's hat transitions him into this activity. I remind him that now that he's "Chef LM" he needs to have quiet hands and wait his turn. I bought a kid's sized apron, but we make a new hat every few weeks. Easy to do and gets some fine motor cutting and stapling activities in too.

1. Cut a piece of white poster board 4 inches wide and measure length to child's head.

2. Staple ends closed to form a crown.

3. Take white tissue paper, fold a few times to give it strength and attach to the inside of the crown to make a tall column.

PREP WORK:

Think about your favorite cooking show where they have all the ingredients set out in small dishes. You can talk about the recipe and count ingredients or work on sequencing (first crack the eggs, then pour the water). Let your kids help with this part. Set out the bowls and help them use measuring cups and spoons. Kids can crack eggs into a small bowl (and you can pick out the shells LOL), or grease a baking sheet. If you have more than one child this is great for turn taking as well. Each chef gets assigned an ingredient to prep and then add to the dish.

COOK WITH ALL YOUR SENSES:

Use this opportunity to discover all your senses. Describe the food ... it's color, it's shape. How does it smell? What does it feel like ... wet, bumpy, sticky? What do you hear ... an egg cracking, a timer ticking, water boiling? And best of all, how does it taste?

DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET A LITTLE MESSY:

Let the kids get their (clean) hands into the food. Who needs Play-Dough when you have the real thing? Let the kids explore what different ingredients feel like. Let them stir and pour, and try not to worry about a few spills.

IT'S THE PROCESS NOT THE PRODUCT:

In other words, the food doesn't have to be gourmet. While this is a great way to introduce your child to new foods (they'll like it more if they helped make it!) "cooking" frozen waffles together is a great activity too. It's about spending time together and experiencing new things.

There are a bunch of great "kid-friendly" recipes. Here's one of our favorites.

BANANA CATERPILLARS

2 medium bananas

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup flaked coconut

4 raisins

thin pretzel sticks

1. Peel and slice each banana into 10 slices. Make caterpillar by spreading slices with almond butter and pressing slices back together.

2. Sprinkle half of coconut over each caterpillar and press lightly with fingertips to coat.

3. Attach 2 raisins to one end with a little bit of almond butter to form eyes.

4. Break pretzel sticks into small pieces and press between banana slices for legs and antennae.

Sensory Saturday: In the Kitchen

I know there are a hundred articles about cooking with your kids, but I figured I'd put a sensory spin on this one. From homemade pretzels to fruit smoothies, my kids love to cook. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your time in the kitchen.

LOOK THE PART:
Besides having fun playing dress up, giving LM an apron and chef's hat transitions him into this activity. I remind him that now that he's "Chef LM" he needs to have quiet hands and wait his turn. I bought a kid's sized apron, but we make a new hat every few weeks. Easy to do and gets some fine motor cutting and stapling activities in too.

1. Cut a piece of white poster board 4 inches wide and measure length to child's head.

2. Staple ends closed to form a crown.

3. Take white tissue paper, fold a few times to give it strength and attach to the inside of the crown to make a tall column.

PREP WORK:

Think about your favorite cooking show where they have all the ingredients set out in small dishes. You can talk about the recipe and count ingredients or work on sequencing (first crack the eggs, then pour the water). Let your kids help with this part. Set out the bowls and help them use measuring cups and spoons. Kids can crack eggs into a small bowl (and you can pick out the shells LOL), or grease a baking sheet. If you have more than one child this is great for turn taking as well. Each chef gets assigned an ingredient to prep and then add to the dish.

COOK WITH ALL YOUR SENSES:

Use this opportunity to discover all your senses. Describe the food ... it's color, it's shape. How does it smell? What does it feel like ... wet, bumpy, sticky? What do you hear ... an egg cracking, a timer ticking, water boiling? And best of all, how does it taste?

DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET A LITTLE MESSY:

Let the kids get their (clean) hands into the food. Who needs Play-Dough when you have the real thing? Let the kids explore what different ingredients feel like. Let them stir and pour, and try not to worry about a few spills.

IT'S THE PROCESS NOT THE PRODUCT:

In other words, the food doesn't have to be gourmet. While this is a great way to introduce your child to new foods (they'll like it more if they helped make it!) "cooking" frozen waffles together is a great activity too. It's about spending time together and experiencing new things.

There are a bunch of great "kid-friendly" recipes. Here's one of our favorites.

BANANA CATERPILLARS

2 medium bananas

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup flaked coconut

4 raisins

thin pretzel sticks

1. Peel and slice each banana into 10 slices. Make caterpillar by spreading slices with almond butter and pressing slices back together.

2. Sprinkle half of coconut over each caterpillar and press lightly with fingertips to coat.

3. Attach 2 raisins to one end with a little bit of almond butter to form eyes.

4. Break pretzel sticks into small pieces and press between banana slices for legs and antennae.

Sensory Saturday: Slice and Bake Cookies

I'll start this by saying the creative side of me usually shies away from "commercial toys" as I get a big kick out of finding new functions for everyday items. But I'll make an exception for this Sensory Saturday because my family LOVES LOVES LOVES Melissa and Doug's Slice and Bake Cookies.

They're great quality of course - M&D do wooden toys like no other. The set consists of 12 round cookies with a piece of (very strong) velcro on each side; 12 decorated "frosting" pieces with a square of velcro, a baking pan with 12 velcro squares, a cardboard tube container, an oven mitt, a wooden spatula and a wooden knife.

I hope you all have already discovered the wondrous sensory joy that is velcro. If not, remind to blog about it, it's worth a whole entry on its own! So back to the cookies ... the cookies are beautifully minimalistic. Maria Montessori would approve for sure. There's a nice weight to the set, and that alone starts giving some great sensory input. LM dove into the box and started velcroing cookies together and then pulling them apart. Again, hooray for super duty velcro, he really had to get a good grip and then use some muscle to get them apart. RRRIIIIPPPP ... ah, a satisfying sound as well! I gave him some suggestions on how to expand this activity - next we tried to "unscrew" them. (Think Oreo cookies). Then my favorite part. We stacked the 12 cookies on top of one another and laid them on their side like a log. Time to slice with the wooden knife. There was a good amount of resistance and LM really had to push down on the knife. We're definitely incorporating this slicing into his sensory diet. He was so calm and focused.

Bear was his little helper and got to stick the cookie slices to the baking pan. Great opportunity to introduce multi-step directions and processes. "First slice the cookie, then put it on the sheet, then put it in the oven and put on the frosting last." Also a great turn-taking activity. 2-3 kids could work cooperatively. Of course the pretend play opportunities are endless. Next time we'll pull out the chef hats and aprons. They both like playing restaurant, but maybe I'll get LM to put on a cooking show demonstration. Look out Food Network, here we come!

Keep up the good work Melissa and Doug! This one is a winner!

Sing and Play the Sensory Way! ~Lea =)

PS - My favorite Melissa and Doug vendor! www.gummylump.com

Sensory Saturday: Slice and Bake Cookies

I'll start this by saying the creative side of me usually shies away from "commercial toys" as I get a big kick out of finding new functions for everyday items. But I'll make an exception for this Sensory Saturday because my family LOVES LOVES LOVES Melissa and Doug's Slice and Bake Cookies.

They're great quality of course - M&D do wooden toys like no other. The set consists of 12 round cookies with a piece of (very strong) velcro on each side; 12 decorated "frosting" pieces with a square of velcro, a baking pan with 12 velcro squares, a cardboard tube container, an oven mitt, a wooden spatula and a wooden knife.

I hope you all have already discovered the wondrous sensory joy that is velcro. If not, remind to blog about it, it's worth a whole entry on its own! So back to the cookies ... the cookies are beautifully minimalistic. Maria Montessori would approve for sure. There's a nice weight to the set, and that alone starts giving some great sensory input. LM dove into the box and started velcroing cookies together and then pulling them apart. Again, hooray for super duty velcro, he really had to get a good grip and then use some muscle to get them apart. RRRIIIIPPPP ... ah, a satisfying sound as well! I gave him some suggestions on how to expand this activity - next we tried to "unscrew" them. (Think Oreo cookies). Then my favorite part. We stacked the 12 cookies on top of one another and laid them on their side like a log. Time to slice with the wooden knife. There was a good amount of resistance and LM really had to push down on the knife. We're definitely incorporating this slicing into his sensory diet. He was so calm and focused.

Bear was his little helper and got to stick the cookie slices to the baking pan. Great opportunity to introduce multi-step directions and processes. "First slice the cookie, then put it on the sheet, then put it in the oven and put on the frosting last." Also a great turn-taking activity. 2-3 kids could work cooperatively. Of course the pretend play opportunities are endless. Next time we'll pull out the chef hats and aprons. They both like playing restaurant, but maybe I'll get LM to put on a cooking show demonstration. Look out Food Network, here we come!

Keep up the good work Melissa and Doug! This one is a winner!

Sing and Play the Sensory Way! ~Lea =)

PS - My favorite Melissa and Doug vendor! www.gummylump.com