Bigjigs have sent Freddy a Young Chef's Set so he can have some fun cooking up a storm in the kitchen making some tasty treats. Freddy really enjoys cooking with me, so he was excited to have his very own set of cookery items including a cake tray, loaf tin, shape cutters, rolling pin, whisk, cake cases, measuring spoons and oven glove. Everything is just the right size for little budding chefs to use easily, it's fully functional and good quality.
The set comes in a net bag and is suitable for ages three and up. Everything is made using responsibly sourced materials and conforms to EU safety standards. It encourages interactive and creative play sessions with parents in the kitchen, as children learn a whole host of important skills. It can also be used for imaginative role play.
Cooking in itself is an important life skill. My three eldest children are now all self-sufficient adults who thankfully know their way around a kitchen! Teaching basic cookery to children and letting them help you in the kitchen is a great first step towards helping them become competent and confident adults who know how to cook for themselves.
Cooking also helps develop a wide range of other important skills too. Using a recipe allows little ones to practice their reading and teaches them how to follow instructions. They can learn vocabulary and find out about different ingredients and their uses.
Measuring, weighing and counting are all important maths skills that are used when cooking. The science of mixing things, heating things and exploring the textures and consistencies of ingredients gets children thinking scientifically.
We decided to make Fairy Cakes, which is a nice, quick and simple thing to make with kids, giving a delicious end result to reward them for their hard work.
Fine motor skills are put to the test with all the different techniques needed when baking a cake. Freddy is a dab hand at cracking eggs and stirring with a wooden spoon!
Children need to use logic and problem solving when it comes to working out how to divide the mixture out between the cake cases (while leaving a little cake mix so you can lick the bowl afterwards!)
Kitchen safety is also an important lesson as children understand the dangers of hot ovens and other potentially risky things such as electricity and sharp knives.
Putting the cakes in the oven is a chance to brush up on telling the time and thinking about how many minutes they will take to cook.
Exercising patience while the cakes cook and cool can be quite tricky, but with a little help from big sister Kezia to decorate them with frosting and fudge pieces, the end result was well worth waiting for!
We all enjoyed Freddy's cakes and he had a great time in the kitchen, having lots of fun while learning lots of new skills.
The Bigjigs Little Chef's Set is £11.99 and can be found at : http://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/p/young-chefs-baking-set