This engaging training explores how cooking experiences in early childhood settings can support nutrition education, social-emotional development, and meaningful family engagement. Presented as a collaborative partnership between the Alabama Partnership for Children’s Help Me Grow and Alabama Healthy Kids, Healthy Future programs, this session highlights how nutrition education and responsive caregiving work together to support the whole child and family. 

Participants will learn how to involve children in simple, hands-on cooking activities that build confidence, independence, and a positive relationship with food. The session will also introduce strategies for teaching children and families about nutrition, including how to explore basic food label concepts, identify healthy choices, and connect foods to how they help our bodies grow and stay strong. 

In addition, participants will discover how cooking promotes important social-emotional skills such as cooperation, patience, communication, and emotional regulation. Practical ideas will be shared for extending cooking activities beyond the classroom through family engagement opportunities that encourage shared learning and reinforce healthy habits at home. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use ideas, tools, and strategies to support healthy bodies, strong relationships, and lifelong healthy habits through joyful cooking experiences.