This post is for you if:
+ Your school does not allow food in classrooms
+ You wish you could cook, but have too many allergies
+ You do sensory activities and want to get the students involved
+ You have sensory seeking students
I LOVE cooking in the classroom! I have been so passionate about creating recipes that are accessible to all students over the years. I want students to have a variety of recipes, so they aren’t making the same chex mix week after week. I recently talked about recipes for kitchens here, and if you are interested in just starting out with cooking you can read more here.
BUT, not everyone has access to a kitchen, microwave, or fridge. Some schools do not allow outside food. Some classrooms have students with allergies or that aren’t able to eat by mouth. These things make it difficult to practice the life skills involved with cooking! BUT—– (there’s a lot of buts here.) almost all of our students DO benefit from sensory activities. And usually… the teacher makes the activity and brings it to school. Why not make this activity a life skills lesson that mirrors cooking?
I created 14 new sensory activities that follow 4 or 5 steps and mirror my cooking recipes. If you are already cooking with my recipes- the routine is the same!
Review the tools and ingredients page.Read through the recipe, talk about vocabulary, prepare anything you’ll need.
Gather materials. Have students pull materials out of the cabinets to get them ready, check things off on your list, read aloud and check twice!
Make the recipe. Take turns pouring and mixing. Have students take part in measuring and clean up.
Use the quiz page. Have students identify the items used in the recipe using a pencil or bingo daubber. Older students? Have them make a list from memory of the items used!
Review. Have students review the recipe. How did it feel? Would you make it again? ((This is an example of a review page from a food recipe, don’t worry the sensory recipes ask how it feels!
Send it all home! I like to send home the recipes in case students want to talk about it (using visuals) or make it with their families! It’s a great extension!
Pin the image below to save these tips for later!
This post will contain affiliate links. You don’t pay any more, but if you purchase from my link I get a small commission. This allows me to try everything out that I recommend to you and keep my blog running smoothly (and providing you free resources like this one- so thanks for clicking my links!))
Interested in materials used? Here’s an affiliate list!
Do you do sensory activities in your classroom? Let me know your favorite one in the comments!
