Plan Ahead
- Suggest a few countries to your child to choose from for the theme of the meal.
- Find a cookbook that corresponds to the theme you have chosen. One with photographs will make it easier for your child to help with recipe selection.
- Read about why the recipes are a tradition.
- Help your child choose a simple menu that requires only one or two main dishes (generic side dishes can include plain vegetables, rice or salad).
- Talk about how you might decorate the table.
- Make a list of what you will need and go shopping together.
Making The Meal
- Assemble everything you need.
- Wash your hands together and explain why.
- Measure out ingredients and explain why it is important to be accurate.
- Explain the steps of the recipe to your child, and ask them to notice how the recipe is changing as you go.
- Talk about how things feel, smell and look.
- Let your child help serve the dinner.
- At the table, talk about why or how these foods differ from foods they normally eat.
- Talk about how things taste and what your child likes or doesn’t like about a particular dish.
- Be sure your child participates in at least some of the clean-up.
Follow-Up Fun
- Make a collage of your special meal using pictures of the food you prepared.
- Get out an atlas, or go online to learn more about the country you chose.
