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Speech and Language in the Kitchen |
For many years now I have incorporated many of my students having speech and
language needs into a “cooking” group. While food in and of itself is motivating, the process of putting ingredients together in different ways is equally as motivating. I typically have minimal behavioral conflicts during cooking, an increase in expressive language, and a wide range of learning opportunities across curriculum areas. I strongly encourage you to get your child involved in the kitchen at a very early age and to continue their involvement ongoing.
- Sensory opportunities: feel, taste, see, hear, and smell a variety of ingredients and tools.
- Sequencing opportunities: what goes in first, second, third; what do we do before and after; how much time will something take; etc.
- Classification opportunities: cold foods are kept in the refrigerator; frozen foods are kept in the freezer; canned and dry foods are kept in the cabinet; certain glasses are kept together; large plates stack up with large plates and small plates with small plates; meats/vegetables/fruits/dairy/grains; etc.
- Math opportunities: part/whole relationships (1/4 cup VS 1 whole cup); double the recipe (functional multiplication); one to one correspondence (5 people need 5 spoons); more/less; full/empty; pint/quart/gallon; cost/change; etc.
- Social Studies opportunities: pizza from Italy; quesadillas from Mexico; Leprechaun cake from Ireland; etc.
- Science opportunities: healthy foods VS unhealthy foods; chemical reactions in foods, liquids, gasses, solids; mixtures VS solutions; etc.
- Reading opportunities: match pictures to words; identify letters; read words; read recipes; read shopping list; etc.
- Communication opportunities: colorful foods to talk about on so many different levels (labeling; describing; comparing and contrasting; offering opinions; etc.)
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