Early years activity: Scrumptious soup
This simple cooking activity encourages sensory exploration, fine motor skills and early maths through hands-on food preparation. Children will help wash, stir and measure ingredients to make a healthy Honeyed Carrot Soup, while learning about where food comes from and trying new tastes.
Scrumptious soup activity learning aims
- Work together and take turns during the cooking process
- Use descriptive language to talk about textures, smells and tastes
- Follow simple instructions and respond to questions
- Strengthen fine motor skills through stirring, scooping and pouring
- Practise safe handling of tools and ingredients
- Use language related to size, amount and order (e.g. more, less, first, next)
- Explore how ingredients change when cooked (raw to soft, cool to warm).
Resources you will need for this activity
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 small leeks (sliced)
- 800g carrots (roughly chopped)
- 2 tsp clear honey
- small pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 ½l vegetable stock
- soured cream or yogurt to serve (optional)
Utensils
- Child-safe vegetable peelers (optional)
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoons
- Measuring spoons
- Blender (adult use)
- Small cups or bowls for tasting
- Aprons or smocks.
Scrumptious soup activity outline
- Begin with a short story about a bunny who wants to make a delicious soup with garden vegetables. This sets the scene and gets the children excited
- Encourage the children to touch, smell and describe the raw carrots and other ingredients. Ask things like: “What colour is the carrot?”, “How does it smell?”, “Is it hard or soft?”
- Children can help to prepare the vegetables, e.g. wash carrots and potatoes, help break carrots into smaller chunks, measure out honey, drop ingredients into the bowl or pot, stir gently with a wooden spoon
- While the children watch from a safe distance, sauté the carrots and potato in butter or oil, add water/stock, and simmer until soft. Blend into a smooth soup and add honey at the end
- Encourage the children taste their creation. Give each child a small bowl or cup. Talk about how the soup tastes and encourage descriptive language—sweet, warm, smooth
- Reflect on the activity with the children. Ask things like, “What was your favourite part?”, “Would you like to try making different soup?”, “What other vegetables do you think would taste good in soup?”
How to extend this activity
- You could set up a soup café in the role play area.
NDNA products to support you with this activity
PANCo – NCFE CACHE accredited training programme
Disclaimer: Activities with children must always be risk assessed, including for allergies or choking. Children must always have adequate supervision. Resources and materials must always be appropriate for children’s age and stage of development.
- Activity
- MyNDNA
