Now I Eat My ABC’s: Cooking and Literacy Connections Presented by: Alison Pascone Pierce County Library System (253) 548-3417 apascone@piercecountylibrary.org When children read a recipe, they are learning… That pictures read from top to bottom and from left to right, just like words o Order o Sequence About comprehension or understanding what they see or read o In cooking, they follow a recipe by looking at the pictures and doing what they see in these pictures o This understanding what they see will later help them as readers in being able to understand the words they read To connect pictures with words o Show them the written recipe that the pictures came from To follow directions… o Which will later help them in all areas of school Book and Cook Connections The Three Bears – versions by Jan Brett, Paul Galdone, Byron Barton, Margaret Willey, etc. Read any or all versions of this story aloud with children and then cook the three bears’ porridge. One porridge recipe is included below: Three Bears Porridge – 6 cups water, divided ¼ cup walnuts - optional ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup almonds - optional 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter ¼ cup brown sugar 2 cups rolled oats 2 Tablespoons warm water (better to use quick kind with children) 2 Tablespoons honey Combine the nuts, brown sugar, and honey and blend on high in a blender until combined. Stir this mixture into the oatmeal at the end. If you have children with nut allergies, you can just combine and stir the brown sugar and honey into the oatmeal. The Little Red Hen – versions by Paul Galdone, Byron Barton, Harriet Ziefert, Jerry Pinkney, etc. After reading this story aloud, have children mix ingredients for bread. If you have a bread machine, this works great. Or bake the bread in the oven, the old fashioned way! Many yeast bread recipes are very forgiving and allow for a lot of mixing and kneading – kneading is a really fun activity for young children and is great for developing the small hand muscles for later writing. Recipe – Bread in a Bag 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup hot water (125 to 130 degrees F) 1 package Fleischman’s RapidRise Yeast 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil 3 Tablespoons sugar 1 cup whole wheat flour 3 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk 1 gallon heavy duty Ziploc freezer bag Into the Ziploc bag, put and mix 1 cup all purpose flour, yeast, sugar, and dry milk. Add hot water and oil to dry ingredients. Reseal bag. Mix by working bag with fingers. Add in whole wheat flour; reseal bag and mix thoroughly. Gradually add enough remaining all purpose flour to make stiff dough that pulls away from the bag. On floured surface, knead dough 2-4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with towel; rest for 10 minutes. Roll dough into 12 X 7 inch rectangle. Place in oiled 9 X 13 inch loaf pan. Cover with towel and place in a warm, dry place. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes or until double in size. Bake bread at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes or until done. Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola – pancake recipe included Pancakes, Pancakes! By Eric Carle Make pancakes. Let children combine ingredients. If you are comfortable having them pour the batter into the pan, let them do this as well. They can watch while the pancakes are cooking. For fun, add blueberries, bananas, or chocolate chips. Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson Make applesauce using the recipe from this book Concept of Alike and Different – bring in at least 4 or 5 different types of apples and let children taste them and talk about their differences The Teddy Bear’s Picnic by Jimmy Kennedy – Read this book to the class and then make some fun picnic food together. Here’s one idea: Raspberry Sun Tea 1 gallon glass container or jar 20 mint leaves 12 herbal tea bags 1 pint raspberries 3 quarts cold water Place rinsed mint leaves and raspberries in jar. Pour cold water into jar and add the tea bags. Cover tightly. Place the jar in the sunlight. Let it sit for at least a day, if not two. Pour the tea through a strainer into a pitcher and serve with ice! You could also make homemade lemonade! Stone Soup by John J. Muth, Ann McGovern, Marcia Brown Using any of these books (it would be fun to read all of them for variation of story), have the children make their own stone soup as a follow up activity to the story. Everyone helps make it, everyone contributes something to the soup pot. Stone Soup – basic recipe One large stone 6-8 cups water or vegetable broth Variety of vegetables that children can chop Noodles or rice. Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, grated parmesan cheese, etc.). *After scrubbing the large stone, put it in a pot of boiling water to cook separately while you cook the rest of the soup. You can put it in at the end or just pretend to put it in… The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – read this popular story aloud together and let children contribute their own part to building a caterpillar together. Not only is this a tasty snack but it’s another great way to encourage children to work together. The Very Tasty Caterpillar Ingredients: English muffins 2 white button mushrooms, sliced Sauce of your choice Mozzarella cheese (cut into slices) Pizza toppings (peppers, olives, pepperoni, etc.) Let children make their own pizza with sauce, cheese, and any toppings they like. Put pizzas together to make a long caterpillar and slice the two mushrooms to make caterpillar feet. Bake at around 400 degrees until cheese is melted and muffins are crispy. Take a picture of the caterpillar and then dig in! From the Disney’s Family Fun web site http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/cooking-with-kids/making-food-fun/ Activities for Encouraging Families to Cook with Their Children Every time a child cooks something from a recipe at school, send it home o They are now the experts on this recipe and can share it with their family Let parents know that they can include their children in meal preparation o Give them a specific task like washing the veggies or fruit Let children also help make the grocery list Ask them “What do we need? Do we have enough eggs, bread, milk, etc.?” Let them check for you. They can also create their own picture grocery list Mealtimes are a wonderful opportunity to have conversations with children o Encourage parents to use meals as a time to ask children about their day, etc. Class Recipe Book Encourage families to bring snacks to class. You can provide them with a list of snack possibilities to choose from or let them make their own snack. This wouldn’t need to be done very often but once every few months per family, as the families can rotate snack duty! Take a picture of the child whose family brought in the snack standing next to the snack table. Create a simple recipe to go next to the picture of the child with their snack. Put this together into a book to give to all families at the end of the year. Not only is it a great memory book for children, it is also a cookbook for families! Tasting Activities Tasting Table Set up a table in your room with one or two types of food for children to taste. Include food from all of your children’s cultures at this table. Try introducing foods in different physical states at the same time o Yogurt and frozen yogurt are a good example of this o Cold cheese sandwich and grilled cheese sandwich Offer 2-3 foods at a time for the purpose of making comparisons o 2-3 foods from the same food group o Foods of a similar shape o Foods with similar colors o Foods that grow underground o Foods that cool you off on a hot day Ask questions that get them describing what they’re eating and comparing and contrasting it with other foods Science Activity: hypothesize about what something will taste like based on its look and smell. Compare predictions with reality. Make graph with children, charting who liked what. Orange Juice Taste Test Invite children to prepare and compare orange juice from concentrate versus fresh squeezed orange juice and hold a taste test, comparing the two. Create a chart showing who preferred which juice and talk about it afterwards with the children. Ask them why they preferred one type of orange juice to another… Try this experiment with other types of fruit juice (lemonade, limeade, grapefruit juice) Try this same experiment with different types of apples o Buy a variety of apples: Granny Smith, Fuji, Golden Delicious, etc. and let the children try them at snack time Which ones did they like the best? Why? How do the apples taste different from each other? Popcorn Types Using an air popper, make several batches of popcorn. When the popcorn has cooled off, have the children split the popcorn up into several zip loc bags. Pour melted butter into each bag. Sprinkle a dry ingredient into the bags, close the top, and have your children shake it. Some choices for dry ingredients are Cinnamon, sugar, dry ranch, dry cheese, garlic, etc. Have your children choose which one they like best and graph the results. Recipes Bagel Faces Recipe idea came from Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen ½ bagel per child Spreadable cream cheese Cherry or grape tomatoes Carrot, sliced Sprouts for hair (optional) Olives for eyes (optional) Green pepper for ears (optional) Set out the bagels, cream cheese, and veggies in bowls. Let the children practice spreading cream cheese on their own bagels. Children can be as creative as they like in decorating their veggie bagel faces. Put out as many (or few) types of veggies as you like! *If you would rather, use fruit instead – blueberries, raspberries, grapes, oranges, bananas, apples, raisins, etc. would all make fun possibilities for faces. Seals on the Bus Graham crackers Mini-sandwich cookies Frosting, cream cheese, or jam Animal crackers Spread cheese, jam, or frosting onto graham cracker. Put cookies on for wheels. Put animal crackers on the bus! This is a fun snack to make after reading the book The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort. Microwave Applesauce Recipe idea came from Mommy’s Little Helper Cookbook by Karen Brown 6-8 large apples ½ cup water 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons honey cinnamon to taste Peel apples and slice into large chunks. Place pieces into a microwave safe bowl. Pour water over apples. Add lemon juice and honey. Stir the mixture. Cover the bowl and place in the microwave. Cook 4 minutes on high. Check the apples; if they are not yet mushy, cook for another minute. Use a potato masher to mash the apples. Spoon apples into serving dishes. Sprinkle each with cinnamon and eat! Sentence Sandwiches Recipe idea came from Snacktivities! by MaryAnn F. Kohl Fruit jelly Sliced bread Alphabet cereal or cookies Place a slice of bread on each plate. Spread the fruit jelly on each slice of bread. Give children a handful of cereal/cookies to work with. Let them have fun putting the letters on their bread. If they’re old enough, they can make words or their name. Carrot-Cheese-Apple Rollups Recipe idea came from Mommy’s Little Helper by Karen Brown 1 cup grated cheese 1 cup grated carrot 1 ½ cups grated apple 2 Tablespoons honey (or more!) 4-6 tortillas Stir together the cheese, carrots, apples, and honey. Lay tortillas out flat. Spoon out some filling onto each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. You can eat right away or you can wrap the tortillas and refrigerate them for20-30 minutes. *A fun idea for children: use tortillas instead of bread for all your favorite sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly, bacon-lettuce-tomato, etc.) Snow White Snowflake Recipe idea came from Snacktivities! by MaryAnn F. Kohl 1 tortilla per child Grated mozzarella cheese (or any white cheese like Muenster, Monterrey Jack, or White Cheddar) Fold the tortilla in half and in half again. Cut out shapes and designs from the folded edges of the tortilla like you would paper when making a snowflake. Open the tortilla and place it flat on a baking sheet. Carefully sprinkle with cheese, trying to stay away from the designs. Place the baking sheet under the broiler or in the toaster oven just until cheese begins to bubble. Remove from oven and let it cool a few minutes. Enjoy! Number Salad Recipe idea came from Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen 1 handful of coconut 2 Tablespoons orange juice concentrate 3 orange pieces 4 apple slices 5 cubes of cheese 6 slices of banana 7 pieces of melon (cantaloupe, honeydew) 8 grapes stir 9 times 10 – EAT! Munchable Monster Toast 1 cup water 4 colors food coloring 6 slices bread Butter Prepare colorful water by adding several drops of food coloring to ¼ cup water. Toast bread slices. Paint wild monster faces on toast with food coloring mixture. Butter toast and munch your monsters! You could use milk instead of water if you like and you could re-toast the bread before buttering and eating. Breakfast Banana Split – from Kids a Cookin’ web site 1 small banana per child ½ cup favorite cereal ½ cup yogurt (any flavor) or cottage cheese 1 teaspoon honey ½ cup pineapple tidbits Maraschino cherries, optional Cut banana in half lengthwise and place in cereal bowl or ice cream dish. Sprinkle cereal over banana, spoon yogurt over this, drizzle honey over the top of all. Decorate with pineapple, cherries, and more ceral. Frozen Fruit Cups 3 bananas 3 containers any flavor yogurt 1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries, thawed 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained Line 18 muffin-tin cups with paper baking cups. Mash or dice bananas and place in mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into muffin tin cups and freeze at least 3 hours. Let stand 10 minutes at least before serving. Other Recipes - Play Doughs and GAK *Note: most of these recipes, although containing many edible ingredients, are not actually edible. The recipes that are edible are indicated in the recipe name – “Edible Cream Cheese Playdough” Edible Cream Cheese Dough 1 8-ounce package cream cheese ½ cup nonfat dry milk 1 Tablespoon honey Crackers or bread slices Combine cream cheese, milk, and honey in a bowl and mix until well blended. Create shapes on wax paper. These shapes can then be eaten on crackers or bread slices OR eaten with fruit or veggies for a snack. Edible Candy Playdough 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup light corn syrup 1 pound box of powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Food coloring, optional Mix all the ingredients except the powdered sugar. When all is combined, add in the powdered sugar. Knead dough until smooth. Play and eat! Oatmeal Playdough 1 cup flour 2 cups oatmeal 1 cup water Mix ingredients together and children can mold and mix with the dough. Try adding in some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, or another spice for a fun scent. Applesauce and Cinnamon Playdough 1 cup applesauce 1 cup cinnamon OR equal parts applesauce and cinnamon Mix applesauce and cinnamon into a nice clay consistency. If it’s too sticky, add a little more cinnamon or flour. This dough is fun to create shapes and designs with using cookie cutters. Put them in a warm, dry space to dry – this will take a few days. GAK Equal parts cornstarch and water (1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup water) 5-7 drops food coloring (optional) Glitter (also optional but fun!) Mix water and food coloring together. Slowly add cornstarch to water and food coloring mixture. Do not stir! Let the mixture stand for 2-3 minutes. Gak is fascinating because it appears as both a liquid and a solid – changing from one to the other. Rhymes and Songs Cup of Tea Here’s a cup And here’s a cup And here’s a pot of tea Pour a cup, And pour a cup, And have some tea with me! Bear Eats Honey A bear eats honey He thinks it’s yummy In his tummy But the bees don’t think it’s funny Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!! Making Pizza Stretch the dough, Spread the sauce, Sprinkle on some cheese, Cook the pizza, Cut the pizza, I’ll have a big slice, please! Lemon Tree Way up high in the lemon tree, One little lemon smiled at me, So, I shook that tree with all of my power! Down came a lemon… Oooh, it was sour. Count down until there are no lemons left on the tree Five Fat Peas Five fat peas in a pea-pod pressed One grew, two grew, So did all the rest. They grew and they grew And did not stop, Until one day that pea-pod POPPED! Let’s Go to the Market by Nancy Stewart Let’s go to the market Let’s go to the store We can buy some… Hold up and name any food item And maybe a few things more! Repeat with more food items. Here is Pumpkin Happy Here is pumpkin happy Here is pumpkin sad Here is pumpkin frightened Here is pumpkin mad But the way I like him best is this And I will tell you why It’s when he’s baked into the pieces of A pumpkin pie! Sticky Bubblegum Sticky, sticky, sticky Bubblegum, bubblegum, bubblegum, Sticky, sticky, sticky Bubblegum, Sticking my hands together! Uh-oh – they’re stuck Let’s pull ‘em apart…Ready? 1, 2, 3……. Repeat with sticking my hands to my knees, the floor, my head, etc. Food Book List Baby Board Books: Vegetables by Sara Anderson Fruit by Sara Anderson Colors + Flavors = Colores + Sabores by Jill Hartley Books for Toddlers: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola Warthogs in the Kitchen by Pamela Duncan Edwards The Teddy Bear’s Picnic by Jimmy Kennedy Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood Books for Preschoolers: Making Minestrone by Stella Blackstone and Nan Brooks Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt How are you Peeling? Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers My Garden by Kevin Henkes The Pizza That we Made by Joan Holub The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins Soup Day by Melissa Iwai Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise by Leo Landry Pickin’ Peas by Margaret Read MacDonald Bee Bim-Bop! By Linda Sue Park Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley The Cake that Mack Ate by Rose Robart Rah, rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig The Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson Books for Early Elementary School: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett I Will Never not ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming All in Just One Cookie by Susan E. Goodman How Dalia Put a Big Yellow Comforter Inside a Tiny Blue Box and Other Wonders of Tzedakah by Linda Heller The Sandwich Swap by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban Horace and Morris say Cheese (Which Makes Dolores Sneeze) by James Howe Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky Where Does Food Come From? by Shelley Rotner Saturday Sancocho by Leyla Torres Resource Books Do Carrots Make You See Better? by Julie Appleton, Nadine McCrea, and Carla Patterson The Cooking Book: Fostering Young Children’s Learning and Delight by Laura J. Colker The Math Chef by Joan D’Amico and Karen Eich Drummond Cup Cooking by Barbara Johnson Snacktivities! by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Jean Potter Cooking Art: Easy Edible Art for Young Children by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Jean Potter Articles and Web Sites: Bon Appetit! by Heidi Sivers Boyce (Scholastic Parent and Child) Young Children (YC) -Smart School Snacks: a Comprehensive Preschool Nutrition Program by Penny Bernath and Wendi Masi -The Food Friends: Encouraging Preschoolers to Try New Food by Laura Bellows and Jennifer Anderson Kids a Cookin’ - http://www.kidsacookin.org/Welcome.aspx Preschool Education - http://www.preschooleducation.com/cmonster.shtml Making Learning Fun - www.makinglearningfun.com Zero to Three – www.zerotothree.org -Health from the Start: How Feeding Nurtures Your Young Child’s Body, Heart, and Mind Nancy Stewart Online – www.nancymusic.com Cook Books for Children: Mommy’s Little Helper Cookbook by Karen Brown (for preschoolers and young school age children) Family Fun Cooking with Kids from the Experts at Family Fun (older school age) Holy Guacamole! And other Scrumptious Snacks by Nick Fauchald (for preschoolers and young school age children) Kids Cook 1-2-3: Recipes for Young Chefs Using only 3 Ingredients by Rozanne Gold Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen (for cooks ages 8 and up) Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen (for preschoolers) Salad People by Mollie Katzen (for preschoolers) Teddy Bears’ Picnic Cookbook by Alexandra Day and Abigail Darling Notes __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________