What Does Your Preschooler Help You with in the Kitchen?

We love making mini-pizzas. We get the premade english muffins, mix tomato paste with garlic powder and italian herbs or whatever is in the spice rack, add cheese and pepperoni and bake for 10 minutes at 350. It's a REALLY fast and easy lunch that engages my little one quickly when I waited to long to start on lunch and we are nearing a meltdown.

I would give the children a clean cloth with plain water-they can reach cabinets, windowsills, the floor-five children...the house sparkled! Thank you for bringing back the memory!

DS sets the table, cuts vegetables and bananas (we started with a plastic lettuce knife when he was about 3-1/2, he is 5 now and uses a real one with supervision), tears lettuce, washes dishes (he really loves this), breaking eggs (this was a surprise but he is good at it), whisking eggs, pouring (Montessori schools teach wet and dry pouring starting at age 3), measuring. I would just get her a step stool and let her help with everything that's not hot.

Oh, and he LOVES to scrub the floor. I have gotten past the wicked step sister implications and just let him do it.

It's not really helping, but bowls of rice (uncooked) and beans (dried) can make fun toys. It's fun to dig in them and pour them into different containers and stuff.

What about helping you make fruit salad? Peeling oranges?

I never think a child is too young to start cooking in the kitchen. Anytime you make something let her "do it."
Crack eggs, mix stuff, season food. When my children make a batch of cookies (ages 3, 5, 6) they literally make the cookies. All I do is measure out the ingredients and they do the rest. They even get to put the cookies on the tray and carry them to the oven. I put them in but they even get to check on them half way through. They love it and I love teaching them. It's a great oppertunity and learning experience.

We've recently implemented chores. Our boys will be 4 in August. They help put dishes away (I put all their things in a low cabinet they can reach, and they put utensils and storage containers away as well). They clear the table of their own plates and cups after snacks and meals, and sometimes they clean the table as well (you can use plain water or a vinegar solution). They put things in the trash and take the trash to the bin outside as well. They've started helping more with baking (I measure and they pour and stir). Last summer I got them these cute Cars aprons that they love to wear when we cook. They can get their own water out of the frige dispenser.

Have you ever MADE homemade playdough? We did that about a month ago and it was awesome! It's actually pretty easy and you can make it any color you want! Plus is totally non toxic. My boys LOVED making it and they still play with it.

I have a son who is the opposite with the sensory stuff, doesn't touch anything! His therapists had me buy a plastic shoebox w/lid and filled it with rice. Each time I was going to make rice, I have him take fistfulls and put them into the rice cooker (I do have to re-measure:)). Also, we'd make a batch of rice krispy treats and then again, it's a fistfull thing of taking that sticky stuff and pushing it into molds for shapes. Also, stringing cheerios, smashing cornflakes in a large ziploc for casseroles or coating chicken, putting shredded cheese in layers of lasagna. I also do knox gelatin fruit squares (jell-o jigglers basically) and let him cut shapes and put them on everyone's place, the slimy gets him BAD. Hope these simple ideas help!

mine does putting the trash in the trash can for me, putting up dishes, putting up groceries, get me the milk , put this back in the refrigirator, stirring but hes not very good at it. give her anything to stir. teach her how to measure but don't expect it to be right. or you measure show her how and she poursit in the bowl. Mine also does get me a spoon. which doesn't work all the time cause of hearing issues. so sometimes (most of the time) I have to show him which is the spoon. I have to repeat all directions to him.

Alot of the time I have to show him what the milk is and make him get it. I point to it and say get me the milk. he hands me potatoes to cut. That is about the limit of what I allow him to do. stirring is done only under supervision with me over him helping him.

I am with JulieBean- pizza is the best. She can help cut up pepperonis, peppers, shred cheese, spread the sauce, flatten the dough...
LOTS of projects with pizza!

my only word of caution... I have a son that has to touch everything! he touched the stove and burned his hand. I had turned the stove off so it wan't "red" anymore and he thought it wouldn't be hot any longer... and he touched it. I thought he knew and understood how hot it would be but he didn't, I thought I was so careful, because I accidently had my oldest burn his hand on the stove before so I thought I was more aware, but I wasn't, I forgot to tell my tactile learner that the stove will still be hot even after the "red" goes away.

I'm not a baker but a lot of baking uses a lot of hands on cooking. I think that would be fun. mixing different dough, with nuts or raisins would provide lots of different textures. I did make home made truffles one time and I had to roll them in my hands, it was great fun but very messy, but worth it because they tasted so good! you could always mix up a fruit salad and let her mix it up with clean hands, or a cold pasta and veggie salad.

what about playdough? or doing mosaic art with different materials, those would seem to be very tactile also. or maybe a blind fold game, where she has to guess things you are giving her, you could play it over the sink and give her foods and she would have to feel them and smell them and taste them, you could even use some of the food you are preparing for dinner that evening (of course the eating part may not apply to everything) I once was taken on a blindfolded walk all over my college campus and I had to touch and feel things along the way to figure out where I was, it was an amazing experience, (I still remember it and college was along time ago for me:)) oops sorry got off on a tangent there. I forgot it was a "in the kitchen" question.
anyhow... have fun!

Just did this with my nearly 4 grand daughter and she loved it.
1 can of crescent rolls, let her unroll and lay on the cookie sheet. precooked slices of bacon or lunch meat ham,,
let her lay a slice on each roll.
Grate and let her sprinkle a little cheddar cheese on each
let her roll up.
Bake as the package says. Yummy breakfast.
She loves to crack eggs. Into a bowl, not the pan, and then she stirs with a fork. Sure she cracked one over the edge of the counter and I had to clean it up, but who cares about a broken egg when youre having fun with a 3 yr old! Make cookies from the roll of refrigerator dough. She can help pull them apart and set in rows on the cookie sheet. Or go all out and make them from scratch, measuring things into small bowls and she gets to dump them into the big bowl. Let her scoop by spoonfulls onto the cookie sheeet. Let her frost cupcakes with a spoon. Get sheets of stickers and let her peel and stick to coloring books, or paper and draw to make cards for grama. Little fingers love to peel stuff.

How about baking some bread, or making some homemade noodles? She can mix the dough with her hands and she gets something tangible out of doing it. My daughter peels carrots and potatoes with the peeler and she uses the mixer anytime we need it. She can rearrange the cabinets and pantry. At her age she can really help with whatever you are comfortable letting her do.

My 3-year-old daughter loves to make pizza. So she can help roll out/pat the dough, spread the sauce, sprinkle the toppings, and layer the provolone slices; very hands on.

We have a bean box (similar to a previous post) filled with dried beans and $2 plastic sand toys/trucks/buckets -- the box is an under-the-bed plastic storage box with a lid so it's easily stored when out of use.

Let her help build sandwiches and then cut them with fun shaped cookie cutters.

Do you bake? Me and our boys (4 and 5) make cookies and brownies together. Yes this can be messy. They have helped make lasana - i cooked everything, they just layered. Same w/ shepards pie. Making pizzas, even something as simple as cornbread. I always try to find them something if they wanna help. They've helped make tea and lemonaide. Hope this gives you some ideas. :)

Two things my kids love:

1. Painting IN the bath tub (easily cleaned up. I love the mother who posted that suggestion here on Mamapedia). I also just found nontoxic bathtub crayons at the store. They really enjoy those, as well.

2. Smearing something on the table. We'll do shapes and/or letters and/or ART! in shaving cream (aveno brand) that's been spread over the table. It's great for "negative space". It's easily cleaned up with a washcloth.

3. Ice cube's and water. Hello summer time!

My 2 1/2 year old and I make biscuits. It sounds perfect for your daughter, because you measure the dry ingredients, and then "cut" the butter in until it is cornmeal consistency. You can have her squish the butter in with her hands. Then you pour the milk and gently mix in (again can do with hands), and then drop the batter into a pan, or roll out and cut.

Pressing out any kind of dough--if you make pizza, let her flatten it (I use my hands for this and kids like doing it), or kneading bread dough in general. Anything you're going to bake that has dry ingredients she could sift with her fingers first. I usually let my boys take turns stirring things and have them help me count when I'm measuring (and I tell them what we're using--cups, teaspoons, Tablespoons, etc.)