ChildCare Education Institute Offers No-Cost Online Course

ATLANTA, GA, Oct. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ChildCare Education Institute^® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers CUR129: Cooking in the Classroom as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users October 1-31, 2022.

Cooking with children is an engaging activity that most children enjoy for its novelty and empowering characteristics.  Cooking can promote a sense of independence and control that is sometimes missing from early learning environments.  Cooking activities also teach skills across the developmental spectrum, including social, physical, and sensory skills along with fundamental skills in science, math, and early literacy.  Exposing children to new foods and teaching them basic cooking skills is also an important step in promoting healthy eating habits.

Planning and helping children prepare simple recipes is worth the effort because cooking is one of the few activities that allow children to do the same things that adults do, increasing their self-esteem and providing them with a fun sensory learning experience.  Unfortunately, concerns about safety, messes, and unappetizing results often prevent educators from including cooking activities into curriculum planning.  The goal of this course is to explore the benefits of cooking with children and provide several simple, no-heat recipes that can be implemented in most early learning environments.

Cooking activities provide a wealth of possibilities for learning and exploration in the early childhood setting. Cooking helps children develop their five senses as well as a sense of independence and confidence. Additionally, cooking activities can be used to target skills and concepts across the entire curriculum, including math, science, early literacy, cultural studies, and social skills.

“Cooking activities provide limitless opportunities for hands-on exploration and experimentation, which is essential in any…