Start with Kitchen Skills
Kitchen skills are among the most important life skills that students in a special education program learn. Whether they are going to be working, attending a day program, or participating in community activities, students benefit when they know how to make something to eat and how to do so safely in the kitchen.
Kids are never too young to be learning this important skill. Right from a young age kids should know how to be safe around appliances, utensils, and other objects in the kitchen.
When working with older students (upper elementary and high school), we switch from knowing what to avoid in the kitchen to how to use things that can be dangerous in a safe way.
Why Kitchen Skills?
When students know how to use kitchen items safely, they will develop the confidence to gain independence in the kitchen.
There are so many different ways to work on kitchen skills with special education classes. In this new blog series, I am going to share various lessons, recipes, and safety resources so that you can work with your own students or children in the kitchen.
I would love to hear from you with any requests or suggestions you have for specific recipes, skills, or resources. Send me an email any time!
Kitchen Safety
When I am working with students in the kitchen, I always start with kitchen safety lessons. The first step to building independence in the kitchen is to show them how to use kitchen tools and appliances safely. This also includes knowing what to do in an emergency situation.
Look for a future blog post where I will go into more detail on how to teach kitchen safety to students. For this post, we will just go through a few basics.
Using Utensils Safely
I always start by laying out the equipment that will be used in the recipe and let students explore it. This way, they will be more likely to pay attention when you are going through the lesson. Of course, items like knives that are dangerous will not be laid out this way, but things like the mixing bowl, measuring cups, etc. can be explored freely by students.
When I start the lesson, I go through each utensil and talk about it’s name, purpose, and how to use it. Once students are familiar with the kitchen equipment, this doesn’t need to happen every time.
Once in a while I will review the info with them, but when students are comfortable with the equipment this step is less necessary.
Organizing Materials and Keeping Your Area Clean
Having all of your materials organized and ready is key to working in the kitchen. As soon as you begin working with students in the kitchen, teaching them to have all of their materials laid out will be a benefit as they get into more complicated recipes.
Keeping the working area clean, as well as good hygiene, are crucial in the kitchen. When you begin working on recipes that work with things like raw chicken, students will need to learn about keeping food safe.
Students also need to learn, right from the beginning, that good hygiene is important when cooking as well.
Oven Safety
If your students are new to working in the kitchen, they should learn how to use the oven. This starts with oven safety including not leaving the area when the oven is on, using oven mitts to take hot things out of the oven, and not placing towels or other flammable materials near the burners.
I will be posting a future blog post with lessons on teaching kitchen safety skills, so be sure to sign up for email so you don’t miss it!
Christmas Ornament Cookies
What you need…
For this recipe you will need the following kitchen items:
- Cookie Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula
- Cooling Rack
- Oven Mitts
- Popsicle Stick or Butter Knife
- Timer
For this recipe you will need the following food items:
- Pre-made cookie dough.
- Container of icing
- Small hard candies
Christmas Ornament Cookie Recipe
This is an uncomplicated recipe that uses store bought pre-made ingredients so that you can focus on learning to use kitchen appliances and tools.
The end result will be a circle cookie with colourful hard candies placed on the cookie so that it looks like a Christmas ornament.
Preheat the oven according to package directions. Put parchment paper on the cookie tray and place the cookie dough on the tray according to package directions. Bake the cookies for the required amount of time, then remove them from the oven. Place them on a cooling rack until they are no longer warm. Use the icing to put the hard candies on the cookies.
Visual Recipe
When I work with students on recipes in the kitchen, I create a set of steps for students to work through. This helps them to stay on track, and to know what they will be doing as they make the recipe.
Here is a sample of a recipe checklist I would use with my students.
If you would like a copy of the checklist, sign up for emails so you don’t miss new freebies when they are released! I will send a pdf of this checklist, including a blank checklist sheet for you to add your own steps, as soon as you do!
Putting it All Together
There are many different ways to work on kitchen skills with high school special education students. Being in the kitchen and gaining experience is the best way for students to develop independence. Keep reading the blog for more upcoming posts about kitchen safety and cooking!
Thanks for being with me on this journey!