New Course from ChildCare Education Institute on Cooking in the Classroom

ATLANTA, GA, May 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ChildCare Education Institute^® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, is proud to introduce CUR129: Cooking in the Classroom to the online child care training course catalog.

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 early childhood curriculum,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI.  “Age appropriate cooking activities should be considered as part of the regular classroom curriculum.”

Teachers should evaluate classroom cooking activities on an ongoing basis.  It is important to know whether activities and supplies continue to be developmentally appropriate and that children continue to have new opportunities to explore and experiment.  ECE professionals should encourage children to develop a love for trying new flavors, recipes, and cooking techniques.

CUR129: Cooking in the Classroom is a two-hour, beginner-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEUs upon successful completion.  Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as individual or block hours through CCEI online enrollment.

For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST

ChildCare Education Institute, LLC

ChildCare Education Institute®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials.  CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).