Family Matters: Getting Kids Cooking

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Anisa Raoof, GoLocalWorcester Family Expert

Cooking teaches kids so many things, from math to nutrition. Check out these local ways to get your kids cooking this fall. Photo: Skill It.

One of the great pleasures of life is cooking, and fall is the perfect time for kids to engage more in the fun (and skills) of making what you eat.

Rhode Island families can get inspired on Saturday, October 13, when Edible Rhody magazine and KidoInfo launch the first-ever Edible Rhody KIDS event at the Hope Street Farmers’ Market at Lippitt Park, Providence. The event is also supported by Skill It, a local company dedicated to teaching kids practical skills for everyday living.

Tasting, recipes and books

The event will include samples of great-tasting kid-friendly, farm-friendly lunchbox recipes; take-home recipe cards; children’s books from Books on the Square available for purchase, including farm, garden and cookbook titles featured in Edible Rhody KIDS, a regular feature in the magazine. There will have a raffle of eco-friendly, reusable lunch boxes provided by Whole Foods Market and Kreatelier; fun and educational farmers’ market activities for kids; coloring crafts and more. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the Farm Fresh Rhode Island Healthy Foods, Healthy Families program.

Edible Rhody KIDS + Skill It

This event is an expansion of Edible Rhody KIDS, a feature page in Edible Rhody magazine and its website, designed to encourage kids, together with their parents, to learn about where their food comes from, to cook and eat together and to learn how local food builds community.

Skill It, founded by Leah Cherry, is a Rhode Island-based company dedicated to teaching children practical skills for everyday living: cooking, sewing, gardening and more, through hosted classes and online classes. The online courses are fun, innovative (and easy!) ways to explore delicious recipes, try out fun activities, share outcomes with fellow participants via Facebook, and generally be inspired to create connection with your kids in the kitchen and at the family dinner table. Skill It's next online cooking class, Season's Eatings, will run November 5-26 (click here to learn more and sign up).

Kids Cooking at the Athenaeum

And if you're really inspired to keep cooking on October 13 after the fun at Lippitt Park, sign up in advance for Skill It's Fall Harvest Cooking Class at the Providence Athenaeum at 3pm. The hands-on cooking class for children in celebration of the Fall Harvest will feature making an Apple-Yogurt Salad from start to finish (and the eating what they’ve created). Class will start with a short reading about apples and close with students writing a poem to take home and share what they’ve learned. Ages 5-10, fee $5. To register, call Lindsay Shaw at the Providence Athenaeum at 401-421-6970.

Edible Rhody KIDS at the Farmers Market!, Saturday, October 13th from 9 am to 1 pm. Hope Street Farmers Market - Lippitt Park (corner of Hope Street and Blackstone Boulevard), Providence. All Ages + FREE.