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Not only is cooking together a great way to encourage more adventurous eating, but it is also a fun language learning opportunity that can help with everything from counting to descriptive language.
In the video below, we share some of our top tips for boosting your child's language when cooking together.
Always supervise children when using cooking appliances and utensils and ensure they only handle safe ingredients.
What are we going to make today, Jake?
We're going to make pizza!
Pizza.Yay!
I'm a chef. You're a chef. You're a chef, yeah!
Chef Jake. Let's cook something to eat.
Do you want to help me? Omelette! An omelette?
Yeah, okay!
We need to unwrap it.
Unwrap it, yes. That's right.
Now will we flatten it out? You flatten it with daddy, push it down.
奥辞飞鈥耻蝉丑!
It's like a pancake now.
It's like a pancake now, yeah. Yeah.Good boy.
I want it to be big.
That's as big as we can get it, I think.
It smells nice and does smell nice and fresh.
Do we need eggs?
Yeah! How many?
One, two.Two, that's right.
Can you crack them into the bowl? Shall we do it together? There we go.
What's the next ingredient you need? What do you think you need next?
Pizza sauce.
That's right. Yes, good boy. Do you know what colour this is?
Red.
Yeah. That's right. That's fantastic. You can teach me how to cook.
I can teach you when you're older.
Yes!
Just mixing鈥 What are you using to mix the eggs and the milk?
Whisk.
The whisk. That's right, well done. What's the next ingredient?
Cheese!
Yeah! Cheese. Are you going to sprinkle it on? Do you think we need more?
Yes, we do.
Two cheeses! A nice cheesy pizza. What's next?
Egg!
I'll pour it in, because it's hot, remember? Where do we put the pizza?
In the oven. That's right. Yeah. And will daddy do it, because it's hot?
Okay.
Good boy. We don't want to burn our fingers! So what will we need to do next?
Tomatoes. Shall we add some tomatoes?
Yeah. Making an omelette!
Yeah, making an omelette. That's right. Look what I've got Jake!
Pizza.Yay!
Pizza! Is it yummy?
Yeah!
It's very yummy! Thanks for helping me, Erik!
What are the benefits of cooking with your child
- Chatting while cooking together will let your child hear new words that they might not use every day.
- Talking about what you're going to cook and how you're going to do it gives them an opportunity to talk in the future tense.
- Counting out the ingredients lets your child practise numbers and comparison words, like more or less.
- Discussing the different steps of a recipe helps your child follow instructions and teaches them about sequences and order in sentences.
- Cooking together is a great way to bond with your child, have fun and chat with them.
Top tips for cooking with your child and boosting their language
When you're cooking together, use lots of different describing words and open questions. Your child learns by hearing you talk.
Encourage them to make choices by asking things like, 鈥楧o you want the green pepper or the red pepper?鈥
See if they can find the ingredients you ask for around the kitchen. This will help their comprehension (understanding) skills and challenge their memory, as they have to remember where certain foods live.
Adjectives like rough, smooth, shiny, heavy, light, fluffy, greasy, crisp, crunchy are all words they might not use all the time.
While you鈥檙e cooking, let them touch the ingredients, talk about how they feel, what they smell like and their colour.
Let them count out the ingredients for some early maths practise and help them learn about sequences by asking them what comes next.
Discuss the ingredients you'll need. If you are missing some ingredients, talk about going to the shop and what else you might need to buy.
If you have a younger child, find out how to include them in family cooking and mealtimes.
Want some recipe inspiration? Check out these cheap, easy and child-friendly recipes from Miguel Barclay.
Another family prepare food together
