Years ago, I put together a cooking kit for my classroom which has really come in handy over the years. I thought all the new teachers might find this idea useful because it’s nice to have a set of kitchen tools that stay in the classroom. That way I don’t have to bring them from home every time we do a cooking activity (and half the time, I know I would forget to bring something anyway). We do mostly no-heat “cooking” activities in my classroom.
These are some items I recommend for a classroom cooking kit. Some of these items are even useful in science experiments.
Measuring cups: I have two sets of these in my cooking kit in case both my assistant and I need a set. Usually, our groups are not cooking at the same time, but occasionally we might.
Measuring spoons
Can opener and bottle opener. The can opener comes in handy when we make apple pie. The bottle opener is useful for opening cans of evaporated milk.
Ice cream scoop: We may occasionally use it for scooping ice cream, but it is also useful for spooning instant pudding into cups.
Spoons are always useful for stirring or scooping. These can be found in sets of 4 for $1 in many dollar and discount stores. We used spoons to stir our donut mix.
Blunt knives: Children are allowed to use these to cut soft things, such as bananas. Slicing is great for fine motor development as well. These also come in sets of 4 for $1 at discount stores. We used our knives to slice bananas to make banana pudding.
Mixing bowl: Needed for many cooking activities.
A knife with a cover. These can be found for $1 or less at places like Dollar Tree and Walmart. I always keep it out of children’s reach when I’m not using it. If I lay it down, I make sure I lay it on a very high shelf.
These manual rotary beaters
My cooking set all fits into a plastic shoe box. I bag most of the kitchen tools in ziplock bags to separate them, and when needed the bag can be pulled out and placed in our small group bin without worrying about germs.
What are some things you find useful to keep in your set of kitchen tools at school? Please share in the comments below this post.
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