Learning in the kitchen-1

Kids love to stay around the mother.Most of the time the mother will spent her time in the kitchen and kids end up there too.This time can be utilised for great fun and learning experience.At the same time kids can also be made proud of taking responsibilities.Kids as young as 2 years want to  do all that adults do .You can give them opportunity to   arrange vessels according to height order,carrying  from the dishwasher to the shelf [good motor exercise]and sorting as per size and shapes ,for example spoons plates basins.Good chance for your child to experience heavy and light,deep and shallow ,narrow and wide.They will  also be noticing the plate is circular,tray is rectangle and glass is cylindrical.

Can measure the cups of rice ,and quantity of water needed .At the same time their gross and fine motor muscles will also be exercised along with balance gained in learning to measure things exactly and without spilling.Vegetables and fruits come in different colours and shapes,sorting them is a great arithmatic exercise;while learning their names adds to vocabulary bank.Number of chairs per person at the table,number of plates for each member of the family,things that complement like dabara and tumbler or cups and saucer.

learning in the kitchen-2( cont)

Learning to be responsible while helping is another bonus.This can be extended to other activities like folding clothes ,[if very young sorting according to users/cloth variety like towels,pairing socks ,uppper and lower and under garments ]   dusting,polishing their shoes[Children as young as 3 and a half can dothis].All  this will help in knowledge gain and dexterity and they will not turn out to be mere bookworms but  masters of their surrounding also.you will stop viewing them as troublesome and begin to see them as great help.
                   While going out you can talk about everythng that come your way,counting # of trucks,following the colours of traffic light ,meaning of signals,helpful vehicles like  ambulance,fire engines.How a slow bullock cart hinders the traffic and stray dogs might cause accident.Important landmarks[ like hospital,college,church,temple and little explanation about who work there], on your way home,road maps to your home,What to do in case he gets lost ,how he can come back,the importance of memorising address and telephone numbers,[for still younger children parent's and street names.]
 In future years childrn both male and female will be taking care of themselves.Already  availability of manual help is dwindling.So why not let them be self dependent.You can also do simple easy recipies like sandwiches together and carry on to more complex items