Toca Kitchen can help users practice Flexibility and Planning. Try some of our suggestions below, or submit your own experiences in the comment field at the bottom of the page.

Flexibility Activity

Work with your child to create unique and enticing meals for each of the characters. Because each character has different preferences, your child will need to experiment with ingredients and preparation methods in order to determine which meal the character will enjoy most. Learning from unsuccessful meals is just as important as learning from success. Your child should consider what ingredients the character disliked. Is there another preparation method that would suit this food better? Are there side dishes that would better accompany the main dish? Let your child try different foods and different preparation methods to find which methods make the most sense with different foods and which dishes garner the best reactions from the characters.

Planning Activity

Have your child create a "menu" before beginning to prepare a meal. Your child should consider what the main dish is, how it will be prepared, as well as which side dishes and preparation methods would suit this dish best. After practicing in Toca Kitchen work with your child to prepare a family meal based on some of the ingredients in the app. Together, create a menu and discuss the ways in which the meal will be prepared in your own kitchen. Your child can try to replicate the real meal in the app while you prepare the meal in the kitchen. Compare the results and methods of the real meal to those in the app. Did planning ahead make preparing the real meal easier? Were there better or worse methods to preparing certain dishes? What would your child change if the same meal were to be prepared again?

Tips for Using Toca Kitchen in the Classroom

Toca Kitchen can be a fun way to introduce pre-school and early elementary students to a balanced diet and cooking. Below are a couple ways to implement Toca Kitchen in your classroom; let us know what you think in the comment field at the bottom of the page.

• Have students work with a partner to create a meal to share with the class. They should be given visual and oral instructions to guide them step by step, so that using Toca Kitchen does not become a "free for all." For example, give students guiding steps; first, choose two foods to "mix" together, then choose another verb (like frying or baking).

• Project Toca Kitchen onto the board and call on students to make selections. Before processing the ingredients, have students make predictions on their own or within groups about what will happen if you use a certain cooking strategy (What do you think will happen if I boil a carrot and lemon?).

Toca Kitchen is just one of many "digital toys" available from Toca Boca. Try some of the other Toca Boca apps listed below and let us know which ones are your favorite in the comment field at the bottom of the page.

Toca Robot Lab

Users construct their own robots, selecting from a multitude of recycled hardware and appliances. After construction, users can test these robots in randomly generated mazes, searching for stars and interacting with movable objects in the environment. Discover more in our Toca Robot Lab review.

Toca Hair Salon

Create and stylize unique haircuts for a variety of clients who express their gratitude and distaste through funny facial expressions. Users have access to a number of tools and accessories including scissors and trimmers to get the job done. Find out more in our Toca Hair Salon review.

Toca House

Toca House helps introduce young children and alternative learners to basic tasks and chores around the home. Users will help the tenants in Toca House complete a variety of duties including sorting mail, vacuuming carpets, and mowing the lawn. Learn more in our Toca House review.