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Cook Something Real

Not a craft. An actual dish that the family eats.

Pour les5y - 12y

Temps disponible45 min

Préparation5 min

Saleté

Bruit

VousOui, je participe

Give them a genuine cooking job with a real outcome. Children take it far more seriously than a play kitchen.

Ce qu’il vous faut

ingredients for one simple dish
mixing bowl
measuring cups

Comment faire

Choose something with five ingredients or fewer that the family will actually eat.
Read the recipe together before touching anything.
Let them measure everything themselves, even if it is slower.
Give them the whole of one stage rather than small fragments of several.
Serve it at the next meal and say who made it.

Pourquoi c’est bon pour eux

Measuring is fractions and ratios applied to something that matters, and following a recipe is sequencing with a consequence for getting the order wrong. Serving it to the family closes the loop, and that is what makes a child want to do it again.

Adapter selon l’âge

4 to 5 yearsNo heat. Give them the mixing, pouring and sprinkling.

11 to 12 yearsHand over one whole family meal a week, including the shopping list.

Sécurité

Adults handle the oven, hob and sharp knives unless the child has been specifically taught. Wash hands before and after, especially with raw eggs or meat.