Cooking is a great way to connect with your child. It is also an opportunity to teach teamwork, cooperation, and basic concepts. Here is a super easy pumpkin pie recipe that you and your preschooler can whip up together.
No Bake Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 large can pumpkin pie mix (found by the canned pumpkin)
1 small instant vanilla pudding
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tub of cool whip
2 baked and cooled pie crusts or graham cracker crusts
Mix together the pumpkin pie mix, pudding, and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in the cool whip. Pour into the pie crusts. Chill until set; then serve.
Variation ~ Pumpkin Cups ~ Place 8 graham crackers into a plastic bag and crush. Pour a couple of tablespoons of crumbs into dessert cups. Pour pie filling into cups, chill, and serve.
How can you make this a learning activity for your preschooler?
Language – Talk about what you are doing. You are pouring, opening, stirring, crushing…etc. As your child helps ask her questions about what she is doing. For example: What color is the pumpkin? What color is the cool whip? What happened when you mixed them together? How did it change after being in the fridge? What do you think we should do next? Talk about the utensils you use.
Literacy – Read the recipe to your child so they see an example of how we read in everyday life. Have your child ‘write’ a recipe for their favorite food. Or they can dictate the recipe to you, and you write it for them. It is so fun to see their perspective!
Fine Motor – Have them open the pudding and pour it into the bowl, let them scoop out cool whip, and let them stir the ingredients together.
Yes. This is a pathetic picture of a sad little piece of pie. But that is all that was left! It was devoured before I had a chance to take a picture.
