Clarina Cravins is the Learning Center Coordinator at Healthy Living who runs cooking classes for children and adults. Kayla has successfully and independently taken cooking classes from Clarina for several years. Clarina has an amazing talent for working with children, especially children with special needs. Her easygoing personality allows children to connect with her while they learn the art of cooking.
Over a year ago, I asked Clarina if she would be interested in running a cooking specifically for children who have special needs. She thought this was a great idea and was eager to help out. The 8-week cooking class started in September and was a huge success. Sixteen children with various disabilities participated in a 4-week-long cooking class.
It takes a lot of patience to work with children in general. When you throw in children who have diagnoses highlighting their difficulties paying attention, lack the coordination to do certain tasks, have sensory issues, or have difficulty communicating, that creates a whole new challenge in teaching children to cook. But as Clarina has said, every child should know how to cook and how to be safe in a kitchen.
Clarina taught the children how to make soups, bread, chicken and dumplings, sloppy joes, popovers, apple crisp, focaccia, and worms and dirt. She taught the children such skills as how to: recognize different herbs, pull apart herbs, chop vegetables with a knife, safely use a stove and blender, grate cheese, chop cookies, make whipped cream, and successfully break an egg.
The results of this class were amazing! Parents said that their children loved the class! They were exposed to new foods and were willing to try them. Here are some highlights of the classes: one child was not happy to make sloppy joes and said she wasn’t going to eat it. At the end of that class, she consumed the entire sloppy joe. Several students successfully learned how to crack an egg – and one even separated the egg yolk! One child initially said he was just going to watch the class but participated in all four classes! To top it all off, a non-verbal child sang to us on the last class!
The success of these classes would not have been possible without Clarina. Her ability to work with different challenges, her patience, and her amazing sense of humor allowed these children to learn how to cook and to have fun while cooking. As the class was coming to an end, several parents questioned if the classes could continue. Clarina took the moment to pipe up and say that she doesn’t want the classes to end! She said she had developed a relationship with all these children and loved working with them. So, before I left the last class, and with very little convincing, Clarina had already set up a monthly cooking class to begin in January! Like I have said before, it is all about developing relationships and building connections with these incredible kids and our community. Thank you Clarina and Healthy Living!
