When Literacy Comes to the Table: Families Read, Learn, Cook, and Discover Together

This past Saturday, six families—17 participants—came together for another Cooking Up Literacy experience, and the room was filled with reading, movement, conversation, discovery, and plenty of hands-on learning.

We began with a Word of the Day, but families did much more than simply hear its definition. Through an interactive movement activity, children and adults got out of their seats, encountered the new word multiple times, talked about its meaning, and practiced using it in meaningful ways. We are keeping the word a surprise so future families can have their own first encounter with it!

Families then sang together before moving into a reader’s theater-style ingredient activity. Young people had opportunities to read aloud, build fluency and confidence, and discover interesting facts about the foods they would soon use to create their Rainbow Garden Veggie Wraps.

And then came one of those small moments that can say a lot about hands-on learning:

one child tried cucumber for the first time—and gave it a thumbs-up. 🥒👍

Another parent stopped to tell us that the food-based learning was one of her favorite parts of the experience. Her son often asks questions about the foods they eat, and she appreciated having an opportunity to discover and learn about those foods alongside him.

That is exactly what we hope Cooking Up Literacy can create: opportunities for children and the adults who care for them to learn together through experiences they can continue talking about long after the program ends.

What Families Told Us

The family evaluations gave us encouraging evidence that the learning was reaching beyond simply making a recipe.

All responding families indicated that:

• their child practiced reading, speaking, or using new words;

• the experience gave them an idea for something they could read, cook, or learn together at home; and

• programs like Cooking Up Literacy are valuable for families in the community.

  
  

But some of the most meaningful feedback came in the families’ own words.

When asked to finish the sentence “Cooking Up Literacy helped our family…”, families wrote:

“Be nosey about food.”

“Try cucumbers.”

“Experience a pleasant afternoon together.”

“To make wraps together.”

“Make fun healthy food together.”

“Give children the confidence they need to do their best.”

“Communicate about foods that are healthy... I learned he likes cooked carrots.”

These responses remind us that the impact can look different for every family. For one child, it may be trying a cucumber. For another, it may be gaining confidence while reading aloud. For a parent, it may be discovering something new about a child’s food preferences or finding another reason to have a meaningful conversation around the table.

What Parents Saw

We also asked families to tell us one thing their child learned, said, tried, or did that stood out to them.

Parents shared:

“He actually cooked... It was great to see him get involved in food prep.”

“Rainbow Garden Wrap tastes good.”

“She tried to make her own Rainbow Garden Wrap today.”

Two families also specifically mentioned what their children learned about our Word of the Day—another encouraging sign that repeated exposure, movement, conversation, and hands-on experiences can help new vocabulary begin to stick.

More Than Making a Wrap

At What’s Stirring Family Foundation, Cooking Up Literacy is a labor of love, service, and commitment to family literacy.

We believe literacy learning can—and should—be active, meaningful, and memorable.

A recipe can become something to read.

An ingredient can become something to investigate.

A new word can become something to say, move with, and use.

And preparing food can become an opportunity for a family to talk, discover, and learn together.

Saturday was about making a Rainbow Garden Veggie Wrap—but what happened around that wrap was much bigger.

Families read together. They talked together. They tried new things. They learned from one another. And they created memories together.

That is Cooking Up Literacy.

Read Together. Cook Together. Learn Together. Grow Together.

What’s Stirring Family Foundation