Kitchen Classroom 2021: Week 31

Welcome to week 31 of Kitchen Classroom, where America’s Test Kitchen Kids is sharing a weekly kid-tested and kid-approved recipe, hands-on experiment, or activity paired with a Learning Moment that brings learning to life in the kitchen. 

This week’s Kitchen Classroom features Cooking for You! Young chefs can take a simple snack to a whole new level with customizable toast. Kids will start with plain toast and create something fun, delicious, and maybe even a little . . . wild! After choosing a sticky or creamy base (more on that below), kids can compose a picture with their favorite toppings for a unique snack with a variety of flavors, textures, and colors. While they’re snacking on their scrumptious creations, they can take their creativity to the next level with some imaginative storytelling in our Learning Moment. 

Don’t forget to share what your family makes by tagging @testkitchenkids or using #ATKkids on Instagram, or by sending photos to kids@americastestkitchen.com. Visit the America’s Test Kitchen Kids website for more culinary content designed especially for kids.

Here’s what’s cooking for the week of August 2nd through 8th, 2021.

Toast is the perfect, sturdy canvas for kids to get creative! Using sticky or creamy toppings (think peanut butter, cream cheese, or Nutella) as a base, kids can channel their inner artist and transform their toast by adding pretty much any topping they like. Will they make an animal? A face? A pattern? This recipe, from My First Cookbook, is especially well-suited for young chefs ages 5 to 8, but is fun for all ages to make.
[GET THE RECIPE]

What You’ll Need
1 slice toasted bread
1–2 tablespoons sticky or creamy ingredients (such as nut or seed butter, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, or Nutella)
Your favorite toppings (see recipe page for suggestions)

Learning Moment
English Language Arts (Writing and Storytelling):
Once kids have completed their one-of-a-kind snack toasts, ask them about their creations (and maybe snap a few pictures before they dig in!). Did they make abstract designs or cute, quirky animals (or other characters)? Maybe they made an object, such as a boat or a flower, or concocted a blueberry beach scene? Ask kids what inspired their design and use that inspiration as a prompt for some delicious storytelling. 

As kids eat, ask them to create a story about their snack toasts. Remind them that every story has characters and a beginning, middle, and end. Encourage them to choose a setting for where their story will take place, and a problem that needs to be solved. If you have more than one young chef making snack toasts, they can try to create a story—or even a little play scene—together! Younger chefs can draw pictures or tell you their story aloud. If your young chef is willing and able to write, ask them to write down their story in two to three paragraphs, or about 12 to 15 sentences. 

Here are some question prompts to help your young chef get started:

• Where does your story take place?
• What is special and unique about your design/character/object?
• If your toast features a design or pattern, maybe your story could be about where it comes from? 
• What kind of adventure would your toast go on if it came to life?
• What problem would your hero need to solve?
• Does your creation have any magical powers?

Catching up on Kitchen Classroom? Find previous weeks using the links below:

• Kitchen Classroom 2021
• Kitchen Classroom 2020