Whether it’s making bread from scratch, perfecting family recipes, or whipping together a five-minute meal (anyone else living on cheddar bunnies?!), cooking has been a resource and escape for us during these indoor times.
Regardless of how much cooking is a part of our own lives, as our children get older we hope they’ll develop an appreciation for good ingredients, supporting local, and an enjoyment of the craft. To help them develop their own passions for food, the team at Sawyer turns to enriching classes from top providers, home activities and books! Check out the options our team has rounded up for you.
Online cooking classes for kids
Sometimes it’s nice to leave it up to the professionals! There are a growing number of online cooking classes available, so we pulled together some of our most popular classes on Sawyer Online.
Freshmade (2 - 18+ years old)
The team at Freshmade believe that the heart of the home is in the kitchen. Join them as they bring the Freshmade experience live to your home. Each day you’ll highlight new recipes, and be part of a Q&A to help you navigate your fridge, freezer and pantry while cooking with your family and creating beautiful memories together. Freshmade at Home classes are fun for the whole family, all ages are welcome to participate.
The Dynamite Shop (8 - 18+ years old)
Get ready for a class that empowers kids to get dinner on the table. With more families home together, there’s an ever-present challenge to make mealtime matters. Now you can get classes from the Dynamite Shop beamed right into your kitchen. Their goal is to help the rising generation of cooks find their niche in food, to celebrate the diversity of our communities and the wider world, and to develop positive relationships around food.
Oui Chef (2 - 18+ years old)
Oui Chef is a professional cooking facility designed to accommodate kids of varying ages and skill levels. They want their sous chefs to take the knowledge they gain with them so they can become an integral part of the food experience at home! During their Zoom classes each week you’ll make a new recipe. Recipes will be posted on Thursdays of the previous week to allow you time to gather ingredients!
From Scratch Bakers (4 - 18+ years old)
Chef Arm's virtual cooking classes and camps focus on math, science and creativity through applied learning. Kids will have a blast being real chefs while making and tasting delicious foods and treats FROM SCRATCH. They will develop skills that will make them feel empowered and confident while developing kitchen skills and etiquette.
The Connected Chef (2 - 18+ years old)
When you learn with the Connected Chef, kids will feel empowered to make independent & healthy food choices and develop a natural respect for their environment and community.
Cooking activities for kids
Looking to unplug for some offline family fun? Here are a few ideas from our community about how to incorporate cooking activities into your little one’s day!
Taste test game.
Let your little one experiment with different tastes and flavors! For this activity all you need is different foods (we like a combination of sour, sweet, tangy, and salty bites). Put the different bites in cups and have them guess the taste. This is a great way to make them more adventurous eaters! When cooking a meal have your kids decide the taste of the main ingredients.
Follow my instructions.
Begin to foster independent cooking and following directions with this cooking game for toddlers. Start with getting all the ingredients ready for a recipe, then have your little ones be your assemblers by giving them the step-by-step directions. This is a great time to explain what each ingredient is, the health properties, and what’s healthy...and what’s not!
Chopped...for kids!
The rules are simple. Everyone gets three or four ingredients from the pantry. Set out the ingredients in baskets, and play with two or more people. Make sure you have a judge to pick the winner. May the best dish win (whether or not all of the meals will be edible is to be determined).
Rainbow fruit!
Divide some fruit into different colors (blues, yellows, reds, etc). Let your little ones fill a cup with the different colors to make a rainbow parfait! As you go, teach your little ones about the health properties.
Our favorite cooking books for kids
Looking for books that will get your little ones thinking like chefs? We've put together a list of some our favorites. And don't worry, all of them have been personally vetted by the children at Sawyer.
Bring me some apples and I’ll make you a pie: A story about Edna Lewis
Long before the natural-food movement gained popularity, Edna Lewis championed purity of ingredients, regional cuisine, and farm-to-table eating. She was a chef when female chefs—let alone African American female chefs—were few and far between.
Chicken Soup Rice
This rhyming book cleverly uses a little boy’s love for soup to teach children the months of the year and features imaginative drawings and lyrical verses. Who says you can only slurp chicken soup with rice in cold January or freezing December? Chicken soup with rice is nice all year round!
Gingerbread Baby
In this story, a child does not adhere to the recipe’s instructions and opens the oven too early. Out pops the Gingerbread Baby! The Gingerbread Baby leads everyone on a fantastic chase, as in the traditional story, but the ending has a unique twist.
Froggy Bakes a Cake
It's Froggy's mother's birthday, and Froggy wants to bake her birthday cake all by himself. He gathers the chocolate, the sugar, the eggs, the flour, and pretty soon, Froggy has all the ingredients he needs to make—a big mess!
In the Night Kitchen
This comic fantasy will delight readers of all ages with playful illustrations and an imaginative world. This is the classic story of Mickey's adventures in the bakers’ kitchen as they prepare a morning cake. "Milk in the batter! Milk in the batter! We bake cake and nothing’s the matter!" the bakers sing.
