The
Curriculum

Empowerment

we live to create a more educated, able, and healthy society

Little Kitchen Academy offers 3 hour classes once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. Each session our students will prepare a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. Our 3 hour classes are “from scratch to consumption” where the children experience proper hand washing, equipment safety and care, collecting, cleaning, prepping ingredients, and after making a recipe we clean up, set the community table and enjoy our food together.

Click on the age groups below or scroll down to learn more about the curriculum best suited to your child’s age.

3–5 6–8 9–12 13+

ages 3–5 years

Our three-hour work cycle for children 3-5 years begins when the children change into a chef’s jacket and are shown how to properly wash their hands. Together, we work through the recipe of the day by collecting, washing, and prepping our ingredients. We show the children how to safely handle kitchen equipment and clean up after themselves. We set the community table and enjoy the delicious dish while practicing table manners.

capitalizing on their developmental stage, our recipes are simplified to strengthen their gross motor skills while developing and refining their fine motor skills.
constant encouragement to try new ingredients, discovering different ways to prepare fruits and vegetables that make them more appealing.
improving confidence in their abilities to describe what it is they like and don’t like, moving on from the blanket statement “I don’t like tomatoes” to “I like tomatoes when they are seasoned”

Is your child 5 but unavailable for our classes offered? Pop on over to the 6-8 years and register there! We will make it work!

ages 6–8 years

Our three-hour work cycle for children 6-8 years begins when the children change into their chef’s jacket and are shown how to properly wash their hands. Together, we work through enriched recipes by collecting, washing, and prepping our ingredients. We encourage the children to make substitutions based on their personal interests. We show the children how to safely handle kitchen equipment and clean up after themselves. We set the table and enjoy the delicious dish made while practicing our table manners. We lead discussions on how to change the recipe next time.

6-8 year old students are all about imagination and abstraction. They love figuring out different choices to make their foods taste better. Thinking outside of the box allows them to build their confidence and become more interested in trying new things…perhaps no more bland children’s menus?
when cutting a whole pepper into slices, children are exposed to the basic idea of fractions and division.
caring for and growing vegetables promotes the questions “where does my food come from?” and “how does this benefit my body?”

ages 9–12 years

Our three-hour work cycle for children 9-12 years begins when the children change into their chef’s jacket and are shown how to properly wash their hands. Together, we work through enriched recipes by collecting, washing, and prepping our ingredients. We encourage the children to make substitutions based on their personal interests. We show the children how to safely handle kitchen equipment and clean up after themselves. We set the table and enjoy the delicious dish made while practicing our table manners. We lead discussions on how to change the recipe next time.

9-12 year old students are becoming very aware of their social surroundings, and we encourage conversation around different dietary beliefs and needs.
using proper recycling and composting practices feed into their interest in their immediate environment, prompting conversations around eating locally, organically.
encouraging thought on how to tweak recipes builds confidence, perhaps one day eliminating the “there’s nothing to eat” statement when looking at a full refrigerator!

ages 13 years and up

As we prepare our young adults to capture their independence, our classes are built to work as a group. Teens are invited Friday and Saturday nights to make a family meal together. Working together allows for conversation around food choices, manipulation of ingredients to make everyone happy, and organizing time to get the job done! After cleaning up, we set the table and the chefs enjoy the literal fruits of their labour while chatting with each other, face to face.

this stage of development finds teenagers re-evaluating their confidence, and they need this space to take on challenges that fuel their skills, that help them feel pride.
these ‘late night’ classes give them a place to go and have fun together while learning valuable life skills.
we can feel more comfortable when sending them off onto their next adventure with the ability to feed themselves with healthy ingredients.