Kitchens are Cookin'

There’s a world to explore: in your kitchen!

Connect:

• Build your knowledge about kitchen machines at http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/frame_loader.htm
• Trace the history of kitchen appliances at http://inventors.about.com/od/kstartinventions/a/kitchen.htm
• See this infographic that traces the history of kitchen design at http://www.kitchencabinetkings.com/blog/history-of-kitchen-design/
• Discover the history of the kitchen stove at http://www.oldhouseonline.com/history-of-the-kitchen-stove/
• Eat up the history of pasta: http://oldwayspt.org/sites/default/files/Pasta%20for%20Children2012.pdf

 

Create:

• This site introduces kids to cooking with beginner tips and skills and tons of step-by-step video recipes: http://www.spatulatta.com/
• If you're hungry, grab your apron and get cooking! Making food yourself - with a little help from a parent - is a great way to learn about food and meal preparation. And this site has plenty of recipes for you to try - from pizza to pancakes! http://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/index.html
• Play these kitchen clerning games: http://www.cleaning-games.net/kitchen-cleaning-games
• Test these food chemistry experiments: http://a2zhomeschooling.com/explore/chemistry_kids/food_chemistry_experiments/ and http://www.science-sparks.com/2013/04/27/kitchen-science-round-up/
• Cooking with children can be fun. Here are tools that every child chef needs: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/kitchen-tools-kids

 

Care:

• What are developmentally appropriate kitchen chores for children? Find out at http://www.clean-organized-family-home.com/kitchen-chores.html#sthash.HWsnl1mO.dpbs
• Be safe in the kitchen by following the tips at http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/house/safe_in_kitchen.html
• http://www.nutrition.gov/life-stages/children/kids-food-safety covers several aspects of good safety.
• Watch tips about knife safety for kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ICQL5H9qfY
• Kids can help with simple plumbing skills; find out at http://plumbernw.com/teaching-your-children-basic-plumbing-skills/.

 

Careers:

Look around you in the kitchen: food, appliances, utensils, furniture, interior design, cleaning. These items all lead to careers: agriculture, design, carpentry, manufacturing, services, sales, cookery, architecture,plumbing, electrical engineering.  Here are some starting websites:

http://www.pbs.org/food/tag/kitchen-careers/

http://education-portal.com/how_to_become_a_kitchen_designer.html

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/chef_cook.htm

http://www.careeroverview.com/home-appliance-repair-careers.html

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm

Family Fix-it

Is your family in a fix? All family members should feel confident about doing household repairs; you never know when something might need fixing – and such practice are good for the environment. Family members can teach each other – and they can consult reputable online resources. In addition, reading repair documents helps one follow and create good directions, which is a valuable lifelong skill.

CONNECT:

• Yahoo contribute Sylvia Branch lists five basic home repair skills for kids: https://shine.yahoo.com/five-basic-home-repair-skills-kids-223800824.html
• Ms. FIXIT’s how-to library has lots of advice on home repairs. Here’s her list of ways to deal with laundry and stains: http://www.mrsfixit.com/fixits/FixitCategoryList.asp?id=16
• Watch about electricity safety at http://www.ogepet.com/videos/kids-safety-video.aspx
• Kids can be rough on clothes, so it’s good to involve them in repairing those occasional rips. The University of Kentucky cooperative Extension Service provides useful factsheets on clothing repair: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/hes/fcs/factshts/CT-MMB-147.PDF

CREATE:

• Children should learn how to use basic repair tools, such as screwdrivers, hammers, and even can openers. Get some starting tips at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/10/10dec06e.cfm
• How do parents start teaching children about home maintenance and repair? Get some ideas from http://voices.yahoo.com/involve-kids-home-maintenance-repairs-teach-self-12314086.html?cat=25
• There are some tips for teaching children basic plumbing skills: http://plumbernw.com/teaching-your-children-basic-plumbing-skills/
• Youngsters can have fun with these fire prevention activities: http://www.sparky.org/

CARE:

• You may find that directions need improvement, or you might discover a better way to do something. http://www.wikihow.com/ provides a venue for contributing how-to-ideas to the public.
• Here are some great youth programs focused on “recycle-a-bicycyle”: http://www.recycleabicycle.org/youth-programs.  See if something similar is in your area – or consider starting such a program. You can become a member of this program, and get ideas for helping.
• RePlay for Kids is an organization that provides free repair services to agencies tht work with kids with disabilities. Teens often participate in this service, so maybe your family can get involved too: http://www.replayforkids.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=54
• Find good resources on bike maintenance and bike repair for kids at http://www.partselect.ca/resources/bicycle-maintenance-and-repair.aspx. Maybe you can host a neighborhood bike repair day.

CAREERS:

Do you have handy family members? Even in this “throw-away” culture, there are always repairs to do, and as people become more resource conscious, repair/recycle jobs will become even more important. There a lot of ways to get a fix on jobs in repairs:

http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2010/fall/art03.pdf

http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/maintenance-and-repair-worker

http://occupations.careers.org/field/49/installation-maintenance-and-repair

https://www.collegetoolkit.com/careers/category/installation__maintenance___and__repair/49.aspx

http://www.careerprofiles.info/installation-repair-careers.html

FOR PARENTS:

Be sure to discuss with your family as to when a repair should be done by an outside expert rather than dealing with it by yourselves. This note applies particularly when high-voltage electricity is involved.