Toddler Room

Toddler Room

Lemon chicken and pea risotto

Serves 10-12.

    Ingredients:
      2-3tbsps Olive oil, 25g Butter, 3 shallots, or 1 large onion finely chopped, 1-2tsps Garlic paste, 400g Risotto rice, 1.2-1.5ltrs Hot chicken or vegetable stock - low salt, 300g Frozen peas, 1 lemon - zested and juiced, 1-2tsps Dried thyme, 400g Cooked chicken breast - chopped, Handful flatleaf parsley - finely chopped, plus extra to garnish 50g Parmesan - finely grated to serve (optional)
        Method:
        • 1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6.
        • 2. Place a roasting tin or ovenproof dish on the hob, over a gentle heat. Heat the oil and cook the shallots or onion until soft – about 5 mins. Stir in garlic and cook for a further 2 mins.
        • 3. Add the rice and cook for 2 mins. Add the thyme, a little black pepper and the chicken. Gently stir in the stock and bring to the boil.
        • 4. Cover with foil or lid and place in the oven for 30-35mins. Add the peas and half the parsley and lemon juice 5 mins before the end of cooking.
        • 5. Before serving, gently stir in the rest of the parsley and the lemon zest.

Edible Role-Play

Instructions:

    Using a tray, you can create your very own role-play scene at home with common food ingredients. In the picture above we’ve created a farm scene using:
  • 1. Porridge oats as straw
  • 2. Dyed rice as grass
  • 3. Coco powder mixed with cooked porridge as soil
  • 4. Broccoli trees
  • 5. Wheat cereal biscuits as fences
      • Add some farm animals and you are ready to play.
        Learning:
          Sensory activities are a fun and interesting learning experience for toddlers. They encourage children to explore and investigate. Furthermore, these activities support children to use the ‘scientific method’ of observing, forming a hypothesis, experimenting and making conclusions.

Pea Smash

Instructions:

    Using leftover fruit and vegetables place them into a large baking tray or roast tin and introduce mashers, ladles and spoons of different sizes. Then get smashing.
      Learning:
        This promotes physical awareness. Using the tools to mash is great for a child’s muscle development. It is also wonderful for the child to see the items change due to their actions. This will help to develop an understanding of cause and effect because they can see the impact they are having when smashing and the effect on the environment i.e a strong aroma being released.

Fruit Kebabs

Instructions:

    In this video Stacey-Jane will be showing you how to create a healthy snack at home. Please see the link below for the full content
      Learning:
        As you cook, you are labelling ingredients which increases a child’s vocabulary. This activity also supports a child to follow directions which enhances receptive language skills. Whilst creating snacks or meals with the children it is important that we explain each step to them and describe what they are doing as this supports even greater language development

Flower jewellery

Instructions:

    This is a fun activity using flowers collected from your garden, balcony or when out for a walk. All you need for this is paper - cut into a rectangle, tape and flowers.
      You can stick the flowers onto the paper or pierce a hole and thread them through. You can wrap the paper around your wrist to make a decorative bracelet which smells delightful.
        Learning:
          This natural learning experience is great to promote language development because you can name the types of flowers used. Creative activities also help young children develop their senses through exploration and discovery. Toddlers can use creative play to communicate their feelings.