Millersburg cooking program will teach kids kitchen safety and skills

Kids in Millersburg will get a hands-on chance to learn kitchen safety, cooking skills and recipe reading this summer through Ohio State University Extension’s Kids in the Kitchen program, a class built for children ages 8 to 12.

The program is set in two three-day blocks, June 10-12 and June 16-18, giving Holmes County families two chances to fit it into summer plans. With school out and routines shifting, the class offers a structured daytime option that gives children something practical to do while building skills that can carry over into family meals at home.

That home connection is part of the appeal. A child who learns how to read a recipe, handle tools safely and follow basic food-prep steps can help make dinner less stressful for parents and more affordable for the household. Those are the kinds of everyday skills that can turn a youth program into a real benefit at the kitchen table, not just a summer activity on a calendar.

Holmes County Extension says the program is designed to teach kitchen safety, cooking skills, recipe reading and more. The age range lines up with Ohio 4-H Youth Development, which says children can become 4-H project members when they are 8 and in third grade. The broader 4-H model emphasizes hands-on learning in clubs, camps and other settings, which fits the practical format of a cooking class where children learn by doing.

The Millersburg office gives the program a local base at 111 East Jackson St., rather than sending families outside the county for a summer class. OSU Extension Holmes County serves 4-H Youth Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Agriculture and Natural Resources, all from that county-seat office. For parents in Millersburg, Berlin, Holmesville and Walnut Creek, that local presence can make the difference between a nice idea and something that is actually manageable.

The program also builds on a pattern of summer youth offerings in Holmes County. A Holmes County Extension events calendar from May 2022 listed a Kids in the Kitchen summer cooking series, suggesting the class is part of an ongoing local effort to use summer for learning as well as recreation.

Ohio 4-H’s food and kitchen safety guidance reinforces the kinds of lessons children are likely to encounter, including sanitizing work surfaces, separating raw and ready-to-eat foods, using cutting boards and checking doneness with thermometers. For families interested in details on registration or class size, the Holmes County Extension office can be reached at 330-674-3015, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with occasional closure for lunch from 12 to 12:30 p.m.