Home Economics

Home economics can help your child to make healthy choices, prepare healthy food and be more independent. As a practical subject it can be difficult for some children.

Strategy Ideas

Talk to the school Home Economics staff

Home Economics staff want all children involved in making healthy choices and may be able to help with:

• Recipes being in picture form rather than written
• Photo cards of recipe stages, equipment needed, ingredients
• Having a range of useful equipment
• Non slip mats placed under bowls to stop them sliding
• Strips of non-slip material wound around the handles to give a more secure grip
• Easy grip utensils such as the “good grip” range
• Ergonomically shaped knifes, where handle and blade are at an angle to each other 

The SQA have guidelines on the types of assistance and equipment that can be used

Talk about Home Economics to your child:

• What do they find hard?
• What do they like to eat?
• What would they like to prepare?

Start with making a snack not a full meal: 

• A sandwich
• Buttering warm toast
• Making fancy biscuits by joining digestive biscuits with chocolate spread or jam add more chocolate spread on top and then decorate with sprinkles. Yum!

Make things easier:

• Spoon the spread onto the bread then spread with a knife rather than fishing out of the jar with a knife.
• Use a non-slip mat (or even an ordinary place mat) under the plate to stop it sliding around
• Steady the item you are spreading onto with your other hand.  You could use a flat hand or a fork.
• Work on a bread board rather than a plate; it gives you more space and is less likely to move around.

Spreading: 

• Spreading onto hard material first e.g. toast, crackers, digestive biscuits, granary bread and working down to softer bread.
• Spreading with the back of a large spoon instead of a knife for jam or thicker spreads like chocolate spread.
• Spread thicker substances like chocolate spread or jam instead of butter, syrups.
• If spreading butter, use a spreadable butter or margarine rather than a block of butter.

 
It is important that your child is supervised when using kitchen utensils, the cooker, toaster or kettle.