Cooking Together
A couple of years ago, my son needed treatment for a serious illness. During his recuperation, he developed an interest in Youtube cooking videos. As he got better, I wondered if that could lead to an interest in real-life cooking.
The Rehabilitation Centre for Children in Winnipeg runs a Saturday Cooking Club. Each session focuses on one open-ended recipe where the child can choose some of the ingredients – for example, biscuits, pizza or salad. To start, each child and parent is given a plate of possible add-on ingredients. Everyone is invited to take their time touching, smelling and tasting. Then parent and child get to put the recipe together, adding the extra tastes that appeal to them (chocolate chip perogies, anyone?) The pace is slow and relaxed, the focus on doing together. It is very much about the skills that come in collaboration in a shared project.
Because of the many distractions at home, working together there can be a challenge, so having a different space and other people to model what to do and to remind us to slow things down is very helpful. Preparing food together is a great way to learn by modeling, turn-taking (“can you stir this for me?”) collaboration (“hold this while I pour”) and problem solving (“Uh oh, our bowl is too small!). Through the session, the facilitators modeled and invited participation between family members. We could enjoy eating together, and also meet other parents and children. The pace is gentle; there is no pressure. Kids can sit back and watch if that’s what they need to do.
In the second session we attended, our daughter decided to come too, so then it was a family event. I was amazed at how many things my children were willing to do and taste in this setting. Salad day, in particular, was spectacular! Almost every vegetable was tasted.
After awhile, it occurred to me that we could use this activity to connect with friends in our own social network. So a couple of my friends and I decided to do some baking with our kids to enjoy together and also share with people in our church. We found everyone enjoyed it, and it was a great way to make some new friends in an activity where my kids could contribute and be at their best.
Cooking Club became a springboard for us – an opportunity to learn some new skills that could then be used in an inclusive, community setting. It’s a great example of when our kids follow their interests (or explore new ones), they naturally develop abilities and find ways to connect with others who also enjoy the same things.