Photo by Abigail Miller
The story of We Ate Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s House uses a simple premise to introduce kids to the wide variety of cultural cuisines enjoyed around the world.
However, simply letting them read it is just one way that parents and educators can use to help them appreciate the sights and flavors of culinary traditions unique to different countries. There are many other teaching methods and activities you can use with a storybook guide to global dishes. Each one can help them further their understanding of not just cooking, but also other topics like history, tradition and cultural identity.
Of course, this can get a little dizzying, even for the grown-ups! After all, there is a huge wealth of knowledge even for just one type of cuisine. That is a lot for kids to handle. It is best to really refine and simplify the topics you want to focus on.
Maybe you want to share some traditional recipes for kids. Maybe you want to share more about your cultural background. Take a moment to hash out the specific, educational goal you want to achieve for the day. Don’t forget to also ask the kids if they already have something specific in mind. And if they are not sure, don’t worry. There are still plenty of straightforward angles from which you can approach this.
History is a Key Ingredient in a Storybook Guide to Global Dishes
Photo by Christian Lue
It is almost impossible to talk about a particular cuisine without ever touching on some interesting facts from history. In fact, consider starting with just some of the recipes being passed down in your own family. You would most likely learn that they came from a grandparent or even great grandparent who came from someplace where it was passed down to them.
For example, food heritage stories are still plentiful in a lot of Italian-American households. The passing down of recipes for dishes like Sunday sauce can be traced all the way to the Old Country, after the first generation arrived as immigrants.
Their example shows how even the simplest or most familiar recipes are an opportunity to talk about its heritage. We Ate Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s House does this well. It can be a starting point to talking about certain dishes your family usually eats (but the kids have never really understood).
Pointing out how even kids’ cultural cuisine can come from a place far into the past introduces them to the beauty of history, and how it can help them have a sense of identity based on where they came from.
Travel Certainly Gives More Cultural Food Knowledge
Photo by Markus Winkler
A food traditions guide for kids can also be very handy if you’re currently travelling as a family! You might be visiting an entirely different country, and the little ones may not entirely know what to expect when eating there. Naturally, a book can help answer a lot of questions before you arrive.
Try looking at your itinerary, and see if there is any well-known dish that you will actually be trying for real. If the book just uses simple drawings, then you can supplement it with actual pictures.
You can even make this an opportunity to share travel experiences with them. There is no doubt that they would want to know how a particular dish tastes like. It can help them get comfortable with trying new things, as well as how to properly eat them.
Exploring cultures through dishes can make for unforgettable experiences with kids. They get to appreciate just how vast and diverse the wider world is by just having a meal. It can also encourage them to broaden their perspectives and become less picky eaters growing up.
You don’t even need a storybook guide to global dishes for every type of cuisine! Remember, it can just be a starting point to learning about the many ways other cultures have prepared food.
Keeping Complex Food Traditions Simple for Kids
Now, you might still be worried about how many of these ideas might be too much information for the much younger kids. Fortunately, you still have plenty of options regardless of what books on global foods you have on hand.
Pronouncing words – A lot of these books have special pronunciations, or teach about words in other languages. Use those to help kids expand their vocabulary in fun ways!
Matching type – Rather than talk about recipes, teaching kids basic association between a food and a country sets a good foundation for understanding the world.
Identifying ingredients – You don’t need a recipe to teach kids basic concepts about main ingredients. For example, sushi is primarily fish while spaghetti is primarily pasta.
Again, you don’t have to present all the information to them all at once. You can take a storybook guide to global dishes, break down its ideas into simpler bits, and go from there. There is also nothing wrong with bringing together ideas from several different kid-friendly food guides.
The most important thing to remember is that there is a whole world out there, and kids can start learning about it with something as simple and delightful as food.Want to start trying out some of the ideas? Consider using the examples in We Ate Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s House. It’s available now on Amazon!
