SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cooking with your kids is a great way to spend time as a family. It can also be a great teaching tool, too.
Nate Halsan is an educational specialist with the Sacramento Public Library and he said what's great about cooking is it involves counting, sorting and shapes.
Once you and your child get in the kitchen, ask your child to read recipes aloud while you’re cooking. This helps build vocabulary and fluency. Let them get in on the action while you cook and keep track of the clock. This will help them grasp the concept of telling time.
Halsan also said when cooking in the kitchen, we don't want to overlook our older kids.
"Cooking can also be extremely helpful for them when it comes to reinforcing math skills," Halsan said. "You're doing something they do a lot in math and science classes, taking a complex idea, [like] lasagna, cake and you're breaking it down into simple steps and directions that you follow to completion."
Now that we know how useful cooking can be to learning, the Sacramento Public Library is offering some cooking inspiration. You can check out a cooking-themed early learning kit at the Sacramento Public Library, which includes one tote bag: stacking alphabet letter blocks and dough cutters, stainless steel pots and pans set, one book, and one informational sheet.
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