Belle especially loves making scrambled eggs with her Papa – usually but not exclusively for brunch. Belle will pull the eggs out of the fridge or off the counter (it’s a perilous task!), and she’ll drag a chair over to the counter to get ready.
Sometimes she cracks her own eggs, though often she hands Papa eggs one at a time to crack. There are never enough eggs cracked – she always signs “more” and Papa will repeat back “more eggs? Okay, more!” or “more eggs? No, all done with the eggs,” to model two word phrases with clear enunciation. We incorporate signs and gestures as we speak because it limits our mutual frustration when we don’t understand her language.
Belle’s chair gets moved to the stove so she can stir the eggs under close supervision. It’s mostly a lesson in staying away from the hot burner and edge of the pan – “this part is hot, Belle! Don’t touch it or you’ll get burned!” Papa is also describing what to look for in order to tell it’s done: “See how runny and gooey it is? It’s done when the chunks of egg are moved apart and stay apart.”
Skills worked on:
- attention span (during cooking)
- kitchen safety (hot pans/burners)
- fine motor (cracking eggs, stirring without popping egg out of the pan)
- gross motor (moving chair, climbing it)
- balance (when Papa moves the chair with her on it) and spatial awareness (no falling off the chair while distracted!)
- answering A or B questions (“should we add milk or cheese next?”) with “A” or “B” rather than “yes” or “no”
- recognition of raw vs cooked
- food prep!
Equipment:
- frying pan
- spatula
- bowl
- fork
Recipe (15-20 min):
1. Cut pat of butter and melt in pan.
2. Break eggs into bowl.
3. Scramble using fork. Adding milk and cheese at this step is optional.
4. Pour into pan.
5. Use spatula to stir while eggs cook.
6. Serve and enjoy!
Baking with Belle 