Cooking Games For Boys

The Basics

• The goal of cooking games is not to come out with a perfect finished product; the goal is to allow your son to have fun with food ingredients. The more positive experiences he builds in the kitchen at an early age, the more he will enjoy coming back to the kitchen and experimenting with recipes later.

  For boys ages 3 to 6, remember that their fine motor skills are just developing. Do not ask them to do things that are so fine they could be frustrating, such as cracking perfect eggs or pouring exactly the right amount of milk into a batter. Stick to things that have plenty of room for error and don't take too long to make. Try to keep them at an accessible work surface, preferable by allowing them to work while sitting at a low table.

Pizza Pictures

• A wonderful game for ages 3 to 6 is to make pizza pictures. Give him pieces of tomato, celery, onion, pepperoni and whatever else he likes, along with plenty of yellow and white cheese. Allow him to spread the ingredients on top of the pizza sauce to create a picture. With these ingredients, boys will love the feeling of having total freedom to make unique creations. As they get older, they will be able to create faces, landscapes, animals and other pictures. Have a group of your son's friends over and have a competition for the best pizza picture.

  Pancakes are also a wonderful medium for children to experiment with making pictures. Fruit, syrup and jam are wonderful ways to decorate pancakes.

Dough Games

• Dough games are great cooking/learning activities for boys of all ages. Small boys will enjoy kneading excess bread dough into shapes, such as snakes or mountains, or even a ball to throw around. Older boys can use the dough to create simple games, such as tic-tac-toe. Dough sculptures are a great way for 8- to 11-year-olds to express their creativity. They can even create a story from the figures once the dough sculptures are completed. Have your camera ready for this activity.

Masquerade

• Creating masks is another wonderfully silly cooking game. As you work on your homemade spaghetti sauce, save out some olives, tomato slices, onions, and cucumbers. These items can be easily turned into eyes, ears, and mouths, either on the counter or on your child's face. You can even create skin with hummus or thin pastry dough. Amuse one another as he assists you with stirring the sauce and setting the table.

  Whatever activities you choose, make the kitchen a warm, fun place to spend time with your child. Try not to be uptight if ingredients are used up quickly in your pursuit of fun. After all, the memories you build will be priceless.