Cooking and baking as sensory play

Cooking and baking engages and stimulates many senses - seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting.

Cooking with children gives them valuable sensory experiences. They are more likely to taste new foods if they have helped prepare them. It is a great learning experience for them.

You can have fun and happy experiences cooking with children that will give them good memories of cooking and spending time with family. If children enjoy cooking and become confident, they are more likely to cook as an adult.

Benefits of cooking with children

Cooking can help improve eye and hand coordination and fine motor skills.

When your child helps to cook they can learn to:

• pour ingredients into bowls and jugs
• crack eggs
• measure
• spoon cake mix into cases
• spread icing onto cup cakes

Their hands will strengthen with rolling pastry into balls, flattening dough, sprinkling cheese, whisking eggs and using a sieve.

Social skills

Cooking and baking are good for a child's social skills. These activities include sharing, turn taking, waiting, tasting, washing hands and communicating. These are important life skills.

Listening and doing things in order

Following a recipe can benefit a child’s listening skills and ability to do things in order.

This may include things like mixing ingredients before baking or cleaning up when the cooking is finished

Doing things in order is sometimes called 'sequencing'.

Listening to verbal instructions, reading a recipe out loud, or using visual steps all help your child think about what comes next. It helps them get ready for the next step in the recipe.

Words

Describing textures such as 'slimy' egg, 'hard' egg shell, 'soft' tomato flesh, or 'bitter' lemon add new and different words to their language. They can now connect an action to a word.

Maths

Cooking and baking are great ways for your child to use their maths skills in real life.

We learn maths so we can do everyday things like measuring, counting, and comparing.

When cooking, children can:

• measure or weigh ingredients
• count items like eggs or apples
• compare sizes, such as a small or large tin or spoon
• estimate amounts
• notice numbers on timers as they count down
• sort or match items by colour or shape, such as using the same coloured bowls or matching cups and spoons

This helps build early skills for sorting and pattern recognition.

Preparation for cooking

Preparation is key to a happy cooking session with your young child.

Choose a time when your child is not overly tired. First thing in the morning or after a nap often work well.

Have ingredients measured in advance. This will help keep the cooking experience short to suit your child's attention span.

Be patient

Be patient and allow time for them to enjoy each step. For example, filling the cup cases with cake mix. Letting them do the task helps build their confidence and abilities.

Include mixing and stirring in the cooking experience.

Let them use the sieve to sieve flour, cocoa powder or icing sugar. Place a cloth under the bowl for spillages.

Cleaning up

Let them help with cleaning up. Use sponges and dish cloths, bins, and a dustpan and brush.

Cooking and baking is a great opportunity for your child to learn about returning food to the fridge and cupboards, and about recycling and composting.