- Get a plain white tablecloth. Allow the children to decorate it with crayons, markers or stickers. Or you can give them large pieces of paper to decorate, laminate and use as placemats.
- Set out a few kids' recipe books or online recipe print-outs. Let the children page through and decide exactly what they want to make. Have them make a grocery list for the items they will need. They should also check whether all of the utensil and cookware needed is available. Take a trip to the grocery store. Try to let the kids be as independent as possible finding the ingredients. Let them observe/ help with the paying while checking out.
- Let the kids get started cooking. Make sure you are present to help with heating and cutting to avoid injury. Let the kids set the table and serve the meal. Don't forget to give your compliments to the chef!
- Personal pita pizzas are healthy, kid-friendly and fun to make. This meal is just as easy for 10 kids to prepare as it is with just one kid. All you need are whole wheat pitas, tomato sauce, shredded cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese. The kids can decide what toppings they would like, if any. You can get creative with the topping choices but here are some classic examples: pepperoni, sausage, veggies, garlic, and parmesan cheese. You can set up a smorgasbord of toppings and have a pizza-making party. To assemble the pizzas: spoon tomato sauce on a pita, then add cheese and toppings. Place pitas on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.
Involve kids in the side dish as well. Veggies or fruit with dip make a good, healthy choice. For beverages you can serve skim milk. Let the children pick their favorite color and drop one drop of food dye into their milk. They can experiment with two colors and observe the results.
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