Preschool Teachers Please!?

Question

I need to find some cooking projects I can do with a 2 year old class! The only thing is it can't have peanut butter! Also if anyone has found a good book or website on it I'd appreciate that, I can't find any!

Answer 1

Make recipes that involve simple mixing and stirring - dips for potato chips, taco salad, etc. Have simple measuring tools handy and let them help. Show them how to fill the measuring cup/spoon and pour the contents into the bowl.

An idea we've been doing at my school is having each family submit a recipe. Then we make Julie's Jello Jigglers - the recipes don't have to be complicated, but when each child gets to submit something special, it really makes the projects mean something. Plus, you can make a great keepsake by taking lots of photos of the kids making each child's recipe and putting them all together in a cookbook at the end of the year.

Try searching the internet for "cooking with toddlers". I did this and found a couple websites/recipes that could be useful. Remember to have fun! Cooking is a joy, and cooking with young children is always hilarious, as long as you keep in mind that you WILL get messy and the results will NOT always taste good!

Answer 2

Mailbox has a whole book on cooking with children. It even has recipes with pictures so the children can follow the recipe. It's called Look 'n' Cook.

Answer 3

peanut butter play dough

Answer 4

Look on Amazon for: One Cup Cooking". Every kid makes their own serving. Remember that 2's don't have a very long attention span so it helps to work with one or 2 at a time.

Answer 5

first, let me just answer to a previous "answerer" 2 year old are "teachable, hence, this age is preschool, and NOT daycare!!!  

Now for my answer... I do a "cooking experience" each friday in my classroom... this week, because it is blue week, we'll be making bluberry pancakes,  kids will add ingredients, smell, and maybe tastes each one, then taken turns watching pancakes being cooked on a griddle.  We do several different types of shakes and smoothies throughout the year...they'll dip pretzel rods in pink dipping choc. for valentines day,  we've even made eggplant parmeasean (hard to come up with a purple food)  Which they loved!!  Ned anymore ideas? I have tons...I love to cook with my toddlers, and they so enjoy it as well!!

Answer 6

"Snack Salad"  No cooking, easy and fun.  We do this all the time with my toddlers/preschoolers.  The basic idea is, take an ingredient for each child and have them dump it into a container.  Then everyone take a turn shaking it up gently and dish it up.

Some ideas:  cheerios, oyster crackers, goldfish crackers, teddy grahams, animal crackers, crunch berry type cereal, raisins, pretzel sticks, cereals work really well here!

Give each child about 1-2 cups of their ingredient and have them pour it into a large tupperware bowl with a lid.  Talk about how everyone helps make something yummy.  After everyone has poured, then shake gently, serve and eat.  (We do this first thing on Monday morning in circle time and we make enough for the week, we have a large container that was for animal cookies that has become our snack salad container.  We like that it involves kiddo participation, but their hands aren't in the food, no cooking, and just good cooperation.  Plus it makes enough for the week!)

The kids here LOVE snack salad!  One little boy, almost three, wanted his mom to make it, when she mixed two or three things together, he was disgusted because she did not do it right.  (Meaning that it was not a group cooperative thing.)

Good luck!

Answer 7

A real simple one that the kids always love is shake it pudding. I just take instant pudding mix and split the ingredients into little dixie cups so that everyone has something to poor in the container. Use a tupperware container with a good lid and pass the container around for each child to shake the ingredients. Food coloring makes this extra fun! As each child shakes the rest of the kids count to 10.

You could also do cookie cutters sandwiches or just cut shapes out of cheese slices and serve with crackers.

Fruit salad is great for learning colors.

Vanilla wafers and frosting make great snowmen.

Answer 8

Making play dough is always fun for small children.  I don't recall the exact recipe, but I will look on google for you.

Here's a couple:

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/artclayre...

http://toys.about.com/od/kidsartsandcraf...

Answer 9

well 2 year olds isnt preschool... thats like daycare..

anddd im pretty sure that you cant do anything too intense cause it would be dangerous (stove)

sooo.. maybe make .. hmmm

popcorn balls?

research the recipee on line.. but that might be fun. and a hands on activity..

Answer 10

we make applesauce - have the apples ready and sliced and peeled - let the kids cut with small plastic knives and put them in a bowl - then the apples go in a blender and you have applesauce.

We make peanut butter - but never mind!

Fruit dip - vanilla pudding, milk and cool whip - put it in a bowl with a tight lid and let the kids shake it - then pour over fresh fruit like apples, bananas, mandarin oranges - this one is particularly yummy!

You can make butter with whipping cream - put some cream in a baby food jar and let the kids shake shake shake - kids love to eat what they have helped prepare.

Cook and Learn by The Mailbox is a great resource