Ingredients
green beans
a tray
a collander
a bowl
to cook the beans you need
a large pot
salt
Preparation
1- Find a spot to work where you can feel comfortable with beans falling and a small mess happening. Collect all your items. If you child wears an apron, offer that for the sake of marking “kitchen work.”
2- I use a small sharp knife to take off the stems of the green beans and leave the beans on the table for my daughter to then collect and place into the collander. I also leave the cut stems in a pile for her to collect for the trash (she does not.)
3- After cutting all the stems off and them getting into the collander, my daughter’s job is to bring them into the kitchen to the sink for washing.
4- Once at the sink (my daughter is on a stool) I let her do the “washing” while filling up the bowl for the beans to soak in. I let her have some freedom in playing with water because this is a rare occassion for her.
5- Guide her to transfer the beans into the collander (we would just pour the bowl of water and beans into the collander.) Have your toddler then transfer the beans into the cold pot of water and remind them to do it mindfully as not to splash a bunch of water everywhere.
6- Turn on your pot of cold water and beans to high heat to bring it to a boil. Add in your salt (you want this to be as salty as pasta water) and turn it down a bit to a soft boil. Allow your beans to cook 4-6 minutes depending on your preference in firmness.
7- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath with your toddler (if they have not yet lost interest.) Fill a bowl with some water and ice cubes. Once your beans are cooked to your liking, drain the beans in your collander and then transfer them into your ice bath.
8- Your beans are now ready to eat, serve or transform. More importantly you included your toddler in thorough kitchen task. Well done!
Step 1
This activity is meant to be a low maintenance activity. My daughter was not able yet to take off the tops of the green beans yet so I did that with a small sharp knife. You can also bend & snap.
Her job was to collect prepared green beans and transfer them into the collander. A simple task like this can be very stimulating for them and can build confidence not to mention participation which seems to be the strongest desire at this age.
Transferring green beans from the table to the collander.
I encouraged her to put the little cut heads back in the brown bag but she didn't want to. I think it's important not to force it when they are not in to it even when you want them to partake from start to finish.
In our early days of sharing kitchen experiences I underestimated the power of transferring. Kids love it!
Next step is bringing the collander to the sink. Again, this simple task too is so fun for them!
She dropped some along the way and had to stop, put down the collander and put the beans back in.
After transferring them to a bowl in the sink, it's time to fill the bowl and wash them. Indhia is standing on a stool in the kitchen.
I kind of let her do what she wants without any guidance. When possible I try and do this, it's not easy but generally fun for them!
Eventually she found her way to transfer the beans from the bowl of water to the collander.
In order for my daughter to dump the beans into the big pot of water to cook, I keep the water cold and bring it to a boil after. Add salt too.
While the beans are cooking you and your toddler can prepare an ice bath for the beans once they are done. They cook quickly 4-6 minutes based on your cook preference.
At this point you take over. You can invite your toddler to watch mindfully as you pour the hot beans & water into the collander. Or perhaps they have lost interest by this time and that is ok too.
Then plop your hot beans into the ice bath to halt the cooking process. Limp beans are not so fun! Et voila your beans are cooked and ready for anything.
What I love about this activity is that it’s a moment to work together while still allowing a lot of “doing” for your kiddo.
My daughter is 2.5 years old here and she loved every step of this activity including picking up the green beans she dropped on the ground. We were at my parents house here so we worked outside in the backyard. It’s always enjoyable to prepare food outside when it’s possible!
*As always when working with kiddos in the kitchen you do want to be prepared for a potential mess, frustrations (on your end and theirs!) and meltdowns. Any of these can happen at any time and I wish I had known that it’s ok and often part of the process when my daughter was younger.
Step by step for PARENT & KIDDO
KIDDO – Kiddo empties the bag of beans onto a tray or the table/counter.
PARENT – Adult cuts the stem off either with a sharp knife or just bend it to snap it off. Lay it down on the table for you kiddo to transfer into a colander or bowl.
KIDDO – Kiddo takes the bean or small pile of beans if they allow it to pile up and transfer them into a colander or bowl that is right by them.
KIDDO – Kiddo might play with or explore the beans. Awesome! Let them do this.
KIDDO – Once all the beans are de-stemmed they can put the stems into the compost or trash. They may be too excited about their full colander of beans so you can let them skip this step and you clean up.
KIDDO – Kiddo brings the colander to the sink. Under adult supervision allow them to get up on their kitchen tower, a stool or chair (be extra mindful if it’s a stool or chair.)
PARENT – provide a non-breakable bowl for the beans to be transferred into and turn the water on (low) for them.
KIDDO – Kiddo fill the bowl, clean the beans and have fun with this water activity that is also a cleaning activity.
KIDDO – Kiddo transfers the beans into the colander. I find it’s best for them to do it by hand as opposed to dumping them (at this age it’s a little tricky.)
PARENT – Adult fills a large pot with water halfway.
KIDDO – Kiddo transfers the clean beans into the pot & adds salt that the ADULT gives them.
PARENT – Adult brings pot of water & beans to a boil and then turns it down for a simmer for about 4-8 minutes. You’ll have to test the beans to cook them to your liking.
KIDDO – Kiddo fills the same bowl that they cleaned the beans half way with water.
PARENT – Adult assists the kiddo to add ice cubes to make an ice bath to stop the cooking process on the beans once they are cooked.
PARENT – Once beans are cooked, with a slotted spoon, mindfully transfer the beans to the ice bath. Here you’ll need to practice boundaries with your kiddo. They will need to learn to watch at times. You can ask them to help you make sure you get the beans into the bath.
KIDDO – Once the beans have cooled down in the bath and if your kiddo is still interested, have them transfer the beans to a colander for drying. Your beans are now ready to make something delicious with! For some ideas, see below.
*TIP – I find that it makes things easier to give your kiddo any sort of task even if it’s “use your eyes to watch the green beans and make sure none fall!” as opposed to only trying to reason with them “the beans are too hot for you to touch so mommy/daddy will do it.” Ideally you combine the two.“The beans are very hot right now so I will transfer them to the bowl. Can you please watch them very closely and tell me if a bean falls!”
