Learning how to cook is a life-long skill that helps people maintain a healthy lifestyle. And preschoolers love to help in the kitchen, so using recipes to teach skills is a great way to broaden your preschool curriculum. Use a preschool cooking lesson to teach about kitchen skills, math, shapes, colors, and even seasonal Fall ingredients. These Fall recipes for preschool kids are simple to prepare at school and make a nice diversion from regular preschool activities.
Applesauce
Apples are probably the most recognizable Fall ingredient to preschoolers, not to mention a favorite. Most kids don’t realize that applesauce is a delicious treat that can be homemade instead of bought in a jar. Many preschool classes plan a fall field trip to an orchard or farm; if yours will be doing this, use the opportunity to show where apples come from, and pick them for your cooking lesson. If not, books like How Do Apples Grow? and Applesauce make wonderful lesson starters to introduce preschoolers to the simple facts about apples.
For your cooking lesson, start by explaining the basic steps; drawing out the steps on a poster is a great way for preschoolers to visualize how to make applesauce. Have the children count out 9 apples to get started. If you’re able, choose different varieties in different colors and discuss their names and appearance. Let the children help wash the apples and then take turns peeling under close supervision. It’s best to just let them each try this step and have the rest of the apples peeled ahead of time. If you have a hand-cranked apple peeler/corer/slicer, each child can take a turn with this step and everything will go faster.
Cut up the apples, put them in a large pot, and let the children help you measure out 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top; if you’re able, grate some fresh cinnamon sticks to show what it looks like in its whole form. Measure out 1 cup of water, pour on top, stir, and bring to a boil. You can explain to the children what it means for liquid to boil and what to look for. Simmer for ten more minutes, then take off of the heat and let cool.
Once the applesauce has cooled, let the preschoolers take turns mashing it with a potato masher to turn it into sauce. If you wish, you can run it through a food mill or food processor to make a smooth texture. Spoon it into individual bowls and let the students eat it.
Lessons to learn:
• Where apples come from and how they grow
• Colors
• Counting and measuring
• How to make applesauce
• Basic cooking skills
Popcorn
For many preschoolers, popcorn is made in a bag in the microwave. But true popcorn comes from dried kernels on a cob and then popped over a heat source like a stove or fire. Showing preschoolers how to make old-fashioned popcorn is not only fun for them, but delicious, too. A great book to read, either before you start or while the children eat the finished product is Popcorn, a story about a bear who hosts a popcorn party and pops a lot of popcorn in a big black kettle for the party. When they make too much, they have to eat their way out to clean up. From Kernel to Corncob is also a great non-fiction book about how corn grows, teaching preschoolers the basic facts about this popular crop.
Start by giving each student part of a popcorn cob and let them pull the corn off of the cob and into bowls. When everyone’s kernels are off of the cob, show them the pot you’ll be popping it in. If you have a popcorn pot with a lid and hand crank, let each child take turns turning the crank before you start cooking. Show them how to measure out the oil, heat the stove, and let them watch and listen as you pop the corn. When it’s popped, you can allow the children to pick toppings if you’d like, such as salt, butter, cheese, or even cinnamon-sugar. Eating it plain is also a nice way to introduce preschoolers to the true flavor of pure popcorn. Let everyone have some and talk about the process together.
Lessons to learn:
• How corn grows
• Where popcorn comes from
• Basic cooking skills
• Counting and measuring skills
Shape Cookies
Halloween is a popular Fall holiday that preschoolers love to celebrate. And since all kids love cookies, this simple cooking activity for preschoolers is popular as well as festive and educational. Start with prebaked sugar cookies in shapes such as circles, triangles, and rectangles or squares. Set out icing in different colors and talk about the shapes of the cookies and the colors of the icing. Then, discuss common symbols of Fall and Halloween like pumpkins, witches, and silly monsters. Show the children how they can turn the circles into pumpkins, the triangles into witches’ hats or ghosts, and the square or rectangle cookies into silly monster faces. Let the students get creative as they decorate their cookies, using tools like plastic knives, small icing spreaders, and pastry icing bags. Use small candies to complete the decorations and celebrate by eating your fun creations.
Lessons to learn:
• Shapes
• Colors
• Halloween traditions
• Basic pastry skills
The Best Halloween Books for Kids 5 and Under
The Top 10 Halloween Picture Books for Kids
Simple Halloween Craft Ideas for Preschoolers
