Let’s make bites together!

Age group

3-5 yrs

Number of children:

3-7 ppl

Theme: Discovery, Problem solving

Developmental area: Detection, perception, sensory integration, Language skills, Motion and motor skills

Areas it develops: perception, detection, cause-effect relations, eye-hand coordination

This activity is about making mini bites together so that the kids can get familiar with different tastes and food textures. This game is a great way for children to learn that their actions have consequences.

How do tools work? How can I use them? These are the questions children this age are most interested in figuring out. This should be our focus with them: don’t show them how to use something, let them be curious, let them explore it for themselves, let them figure it out on their own!

While it is essential to give them enough time it is also important to observe them while they explore because some problems might show in these situations. For instance, a child who is starting games but is unable to finish them and to solve the problem and therefore can’t experience the happiness caused by the successful attempt. Should you face this issue with a kid, the best thing to do is to use the tool in front of the child and then give it back to them so that they can continue to experiment with it. Alternatively you could show other ways to use the same object. It is crucial not to immediately jump to another one. Support is needed here in order to help the child achieve the joy of success. If we come back to the same tool over and over again but with less and less help the effect of the experience will last. Children who do not realize that their actions have consequences, for example a child who pushes an object away but does not watch where the objects goes, might highly benefit from this and similar activities.

Ingredients

  • fruits and vegetables
  • cheese
  • cold cuts / meat
  • bread
  • nuts
  • mixer / smoothie maker / coffee or meat grinder (any of the kitchen machines)

How to make the snacks

Instructions:

Use the various chopping and cutting machines (grinder, blender) with the help of children. Let them turn the switches and push the buttons and load the fruits and veggies. During this all ingredients should be discussed. Coffee or meat grinders might be used too to observe how ingredients can change. (Accepting the unusual or maybe even unpleasent noises made by the machines can be a goal too. This might be even discussed with the child.)

Pro tip: If a child does not show interest or is not active during this activity, let’s just taste the fruits, the veggies and show our feelings with sounds, words or facial expressions. Give a child a small bit and ask them to place it in the machine, then hold their hand softly, turn on the appliance together and then let go of their hand. Wait to see if the child starts trying and don’t forget to actually ask the kid to do so. Maybe even help them a little bit. The aim is for the child to do it on their own. It is essential not to speak too much, just one or two words at a time. The conclusion should not be drawn by the adult but it should be figured out by the child. The kid should express what they see, think and feel. We only recommend this to parents once the child more or less knows the steps of the activity.