March is such a fun month for early learning! With spring just beginning to appear and leprechauns on the loose, what's not to love?! March is a great month to use thematic cooking activities too! If you're looking for a fun, new way to engage your students in learning, you'll love these March No-Cook Visual Recipes!
If you know me, you surely already know how much I LOVE cooking with kids. Whether you're a classroom teacher, an SLP, or a parent, there are so many benefits to using cooking activities with your children.
In my cooking lessons, I like to use a special tool called visual recipes. Visual recipes are kid-friendlycooking activities that feature full-color recipe cards with step-by-step directions.Each card uses visual supports in the form of pictures to help young and non-verbal learners build communication skills through fun and engaging cooking lessons.
With the included visual supports, kids canparticipate actively in the cooking lesson and learn SO much from the process. With a little guidance, students can use the visual recipe independently and you'll be able to target a variety of important speech and language skills as well.
Visual recipes are perfect for SLPs, teachers, parents, and anyone working with young children. They're such a great way to practice key communication skills like vocabulary, grammar, answering/asking questions, following directions, sequencing, expressive language, socializing, and basic concepts in a fun way.
In addition to my Visual Recipe Cards for Kids, I'm a fan of creating recipes for each month as well! These seasonally and holiday-themed visual recipes give engagement a major boost and keep kiddos interested all year long.
My favorite thing about these March-themed recipesis that they are all no-cook! This simply means that to complete each cooking activity you won't need access to a stove or oven.
Some recipes require a microwave, but that's it! That means you can use these recipes in speech rooms, classrooms, or at home without a ton of fuss.
These recipes make a great activity for SLPs looking to target communication skills, preschool teachers, elementary teachers looking for a fun, seasonal lesson, and parents wanting to try cooking at home.
No matter how you implement these March no-cook recipes, you're bound to see BIG growth in your kiddos and plenty of engagement.
Not to mention, cooking is a great opportunity to foster relationships and help support social-emotional growth too. Ready to get started?! Let's get to it!
My March No-Cook Recipes wouldn't be complete without this delicious Shamrock Shake. Do you remember getting these as a kid at fast-food places? I always thought these were so much fun, so I had to include them in my visual recipe pack for March!
This recipe is super simple and only requires a blender to get started. Since many kiddos have likely never used a blender, this is a great opportunity to work on new words.
Each of my visual recipes comes with a set of vocabulary cards and comprehension questions so you'll be able to easily targetcore words for each cooking lesson.
This fun treat would be PERFECT for St. Patrick's Day, a Fun Friday, or a special dessert at home with the family.
This one might be my favorite, it's just way too cute! I love this activity since it's 100% no-cook, and doesn't even require a microwave. Only a few simple ingredients are required for this activity!
This recipe is also perfect for working on fine-motor skills since each kiddo gets to make their own.
Not to mention, this visual recipe is the perfect way to target color words, adjectives, basic concepts, core words, verbs, and so much more!
Rainbows are a great focal point for thematic lessons in March. Choosing a fun book like "How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow"by Monica Sweeney, is the perfect way to extend this activity a little further.
Read your book aloud prior to your activity, making sure to ask lots of questions about the story. Then, during your activity, ask more questions about the colors children see to tie into what you read.
If you're looking for a healthier sweet treat, these Ladybug Apples are just the thing! I like to use this activity along with a book as well like, The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.
Reading a book like this one first is helpful for building in some opportunities to discuss vocabulary words that extend beyond the ones you'll target in your cooking lesson. Ask children about different emotion words, and ask what kind of ladybug they'd like to make during the lesson (a grouchy ladybug or a happy ladybug).
After reading your book, your students will be super pumped to get started making their very own ladybug. Continue to target vocabulary during your lessons, by taking some time to focus on names for ingredients and tools needed to make this recipe.
As an added bonus, this yummy recipe doesn't require a microwave either, so it's perfect for classrooms and speech therapy rooms!
Have you ever made homemade Rice Krispie treats? They are SO much better than the store-bought version and super simple to make! This St. Patrick's Day version uses Lucky Charms cereal instead and it's one of my personal faves.
This one uses a microwave, so make sure you have access to one before getting started. Speaking of getting started, before I begin any cooking activity, I love to read through the whole recipe card with kiddos.
This offers an opportunity to identify ingredients and tools that will be used and get an idea for each step in the process.
Taking the time to do this prior, means you'll be able to call on the children to help "read" the recipe as you cook together.
As they see each familiar picture on the card they'll better be able to recall the vocabulary words discussed before the lesson for even more communication opportunities.
Try making these during the week of St. Patrick's Day for a super magical snack time!
Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, I've got a super fun FREEBIE just for you! This fun March Visual Recipe is perfect for using alongside "How to Catch a Leprechaun" byAdam Wallace. If you know me, you know how much I love these books! They're a great way to boost engagement in your speech sessions, and build excitement for your lesson.
I like to extend this activity a little further by using it alongside the book and this adapted book piece set.
Included in the adapted book piece resourceyou'll find 24 questions to answer with 2 answer choices per question. As you read the story, use thequestion-and-answer strips to extend learning and promote communication skills.
Using these resources together is a great way to work on story retelling, expanding utterances, answering questions, vocabulary, and more!Sign up to grab the freebie and give these visual recipes a try in your lessons today!
Aside from the actual visual recipe cards included in the March No-Cook Recipe pack, you'll find so many more resources to help support learning! Inside this resource you'll find vocabulary cards, comprehension questions, and cheat sheets for each recipe! There's also a to-do list, shopping list, and student/client preference sheet.
The cheat sheets include a list of questions to extend learning and promote conversation among your group. This is a great way to make sure yourchildren are learning all throughout your lesson. You'll also find a list of vocabulary words, basic concepts, core words/phrases, and more to use as a tool while cooking with your kiddos.
Since these March No-Cook Recipes touch on St. Patrick's day and other spring themes like bugs and rainbows, you'll be able to use these fun recipes all month long. I know once you start using visual recipes with the kids in your life, you'll be hooked! Check out all of these March No-Cook Visual Recipes and get cookin' today!
Not ready for March Recipes just yet? No problem! Pin this post on Pinterest for later!
