Using Cooking to Teach

MAKE LEARNING FUN – USING COOKING TO TEACH AT SCHOOL AND HOME

Discover Using Cooking to Teach Today!

Subscribe to this podcast via your favourite app

Join my newsletter for more awesome information about ASD

Using Cooking to Teach

Cooking is a daily activity for everyone. It is a wonderful activity to teach ALL ages and stages. Cooking is an activity families, schools, community groups – indeed anyone can do it – and it provides long term recreation and independent living skills. Through cooking you can teach all curriculum areas (see below). By providing a structured programme with goals/learning outcomes you can develop a cooking programme that addresses the learning style and needs of the individual student. One child may use the programme to learn to read while another may use it to communicate, using visuals.

10 Ways to Use Cooking to Teach

Here are some examples of how cooking can be used to teach a wide range of skills at both school and home:

Sequencing: cut up recipes and get the child to put in the correct order

Writing: write out recipe, record observations, etc.

Reading: read recipes, comprehension of instructions, etc.

Social skills: turn taking, waiting, requesting help, asking for a taste, etc.

Maths: counting, fractions, measuring, etc.

Motor skills: cutting, opening containers, stirring, etc.

Sensory: tasting, smelling, texture of ingredients

Conversation skills: talking about foods, likes and dislikes

Categories: where items go in the kitchen – fridge, pantry, etc.

Hygiene: hand washing, cleaning dishes, etc.

CURRICULUM GUIDELINES – OUTCOMES FROM COOKING PROGRAMME

From the Cookbook manual – download as a pdf HERE

Together We Cook ‘n’ Learn

ENGLISH	MATHS	SCIENCE
Reading	Number	Problem solving
Writing	Measurement	Cooking
Listening	Problem solving	Safety awareness
Augmentative communication	Matching	Technology
Communication: expressive (speaking) and receptive (listening)	Sequencing	Domestic appliances
	Categorising / Classification	Body awareness
	Money
STUDIES OF SOCIETY & ENVIRONMENT	HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION	THE ARTS
Social skills	Motor skills	Play development
Group learning	Self-help / Independent living	Art / Craft
Work tasks	People & food	Music
Community access	Hygiene	TECHNOLOGY
Shopping	Recreational activities	Domestic appliances
	Safety	Visuals & Augmentative communications systems
	Sensory integration	Digital camera

Download pdf version here

Download FREE Pikelet recipe here

Enjoying Using Cooking to Teach? First three pages of Pikelet recipe shown below.

Check out my Photo Cookbooks for HEAPS more recipes!!

Download FREE Banana Choc Muffin recipe here

Cooking is a great way to develop communication for children who have limited verbal skills.

Here are some examples of how to provide opportunities to communicate:

Give container with lid on too tight. Child needs to ask for help
Place hands in sticky ingredients and say “yuck”
Count when stirring, i.e. 1,2,3
When turning tap on/off, say “ON/OFF”. Wait for them to indicate they want it turned on – request, point, etc.
Count wherever possible… pikelets in pan, honey joys, etc.
Look through photo recipe book with student. Discuss things they like and don’t like
Sing songs when cooking (e.g. “Everybody mixing”)
Give bowl to mix without soon. Child needs to ask for spoon
Give electric item with no cord. Child needs to ask for HELP
Wherever possible don’t anticipate their communication. Wait for them to communicate first rather than guessing their needs (e.g. hands dirty, want to wash, wait for them to look at you and indicate they want help, etc.)

Enjoying Using Cooking to Teach? For more ideas on how to develop communication skills see Practical Communication Programmes by Sue Larkey and Jo Adkins

Enjoying Using Cooking to Teach? Try My Cookbooks!

What’s in it for me?

Cookbooks

340 photos of the key stages fo each recipe (ingredients, utensils, equipment and recipe)
PROVEN recipes that kids love
50 full colour pages with step by step recipes
Easy activities to incorporate into school day/home
DURABLE: spiral bind, gloss art paper

Tecahing Manual

Over 300 skills to teach – from communication, maths, science, social skills and more (ALL curriculum areas)
Outlines learning outcomes from cooking
6 step programme from evaluations to implementation
Worksheets for follow up activites
Heaps of time-savers and ideas

Try Using Cooking to Teach Today!