Cooking Days

We love to cook in Kindergarten and have cooking days about once a month. They are usually to celebrate a holiday or special event.

About a week before each cooking day I assign an ingredient to each student. I always have the ingredients due two days before the cooking day so that I can send a reminder if an ingredient is not turned in on the due date and then shop for missing ingredients if the item is still missing the day before cooking day.

We cook/bake four things, so I have the kids in four groups and the groups rotate through each station. To help the kid stay with their groups I give the kids picture tags to wear around their necks (for example, on Halloween cooking day I'll have a group of bats, a group of pumpkins, a group of witches, and a group of ghosts). This way, if someone strays, they can quickly be returned to the correct group. I also have a master schedule of where each group should be during each session.

Each student has a cooking box, which they decorate with my aide while I am doing cooking day prep with my parent volunteers. Finished items are sent home in the boxes for the students to share with their family.

Cooking boxes....We usually keep the girls' boxes on one table and the boys' boxes on another so that they can be found more easily when the students are putting away their treats.

Frankenstein Rice Krispie treats for Halloween Cooking Day

Mini Pumpkin Pies for Thanksgiving Cooking Day

Gingerbread Houses for Christmas Cooking Day....My room moms hot glue graham crackers to mini milk cartons the day before...

Suckers for Valentine's Cooking Day....Made from Vanilla Wafers with frosting in the middle and dipped in colored melting chocolate. With sprinkles, of course.

Baked Spinach Tortilla Chips for St. Patrick's Cooking Day. Because not everything can have frosting on it.

Inside a St. Patrick's Cooking Day Box...Rainbow Cupcake, Rainbow Fruit Kabob, and Spinach Tortilla Chips (we also made green popsicles, but those were in the freezer)

Cupcakes Baked Inside Dyed Easter Egg Shells...