National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day

National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day is celebrated annually on September 13th. This is a day that encourages children and adolescents to cook for or with their parents or guardians. Younger children are encouraged to work together with their parents or guardians to create something. This allows them to be supervised but still have in on the baking fun. Kids should find their favorite recipes and make a great meal, snack, or treat for the family. This is a fun and exciting day for everyone involved.

National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day was started and is sponsored by the Young Chefs Academy (YCA). The mission of the Young Chefs Academy for this day is to get people of all ages to be involved in the kitchen. Cooking or baking are things that can be really fun for anyone once they are exposed to it. The YCA encourages all ages to help plan, prep, and make meals with their family starting at a young age. This day allows for the children to spend some time in the kitchen if they aren’t normally used to it. The focus of the YCA is to provide experience for young kids in the kitchen and to help them learn tips, tricks, and healthy eating habits.

Let the child go at their own pace. Kids will learn more when allowed to learn on their own, make mistakes, and go at their own speed. This allows them to learn how to cook as well as take some responsibility for the activity they are doing. Children might even find that they really enjoy cooking or baking.

Start them young! Younger children can still be a part of this day. For the children who are on the younger end, they might need more assistance in the kitchen on this day, however, they do not need to be left out. They are never too young to help measure out ingredients or even just taste test!

On top of learning the importance of how to cook, this day also allows children to learn other great things. For example, measuring out ingredients allows them to practice with fractions and work with numbers. Reading out simple recipes will allow them to practice their reading skills and sounding out words.

Every family can make this day what they want it to be. Make a tradition, try new things and just have fun. This is a day to show kids of all ages how fun cooking and baking can really be. Cooking and baking is a skill that is important for everyone to have. There are also so many other things that they can learn with their time on this day This is a good day to practice cooking and just have fun with the family.

Author: Samantha Potocnik
Samantha is an intern at EVOLVE and a student at the University of Wisconsin River Falls.

Resources:
National Day Calendar
Days of the Year