About Me

In the Kitchen with Nataliia Prokopchik

Bringing together a love for food, family, and faith, Nataliia Prokopchik inspires families to cook, play, and grow through every season of life.

Meet Natalia

Hi, I’m Nataliia Prokopchik — an early childhood educator and author. For me, cooking with children is more than preparing treats. It’s a powerful teaching tool that helps kids develop creativity, confidence, and essential life skills.

In the kitchen, a special atmosphere is born — one where every child feels supported and free to try. With each step, they grow more confident, building an inner voice that says: “I can. I know how. And I can learn even more.”

Cooking side by side also creates closeness: the kind of warm moments that connect hearts and stay in memory for life.

My four-season series of cooking activity books blends simple recipes, poems, and creative tasks to inspire kids and parents to cook, learn, and grow together. Each page invites families to slow down, create, and savor everyday joy in the kitchen and beyond.

Who I Am

Hi, I’m Nataliia Prokopchik — an early childhood educator and author of the four-season children’s cooking activity book series Savor Life: A Delicious Way to Grow (Ukrainian Edition: «Розвивайся смачно: Приготуй життя»).
For me, the kitchen is more than a place to prepare food — it is a classroom of the heart, where creativity blossoms, confidence takes root, and closeness nourishes the soul. Cooking becomes not only about skills, but also about gratitude, connection, and joy — a way to grow together.

Education and Inspiration

My journey began with a love for music: I studied piano and completed a degree in musical education before turning to the field of early childhood pedagogy. Later, at the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University in Kyiv, I deepened my training as a preschool educator. During those years, I was especially inspired by the lectures and books of Shalva A. Amonashvili, a leading figure in humanistic pedagogy. His vision of nurturing children with respect, kindness, and love became a foundation for my own approach to teaching.

My First Book

Before moving to the United States, I wrote my first book, Cooking with Children, or Something More, created for preschool teachers, educators, and parents working with young children. In many ways, this book marked the beginning of my journey — a way to ensure that the culinary classes I started in Ukraine would continue to inspire others.

From Ukraine to the United States: A Teaching Journey

Later, in Sacramento and Las Vegas, I continued leading children’s cooking classes, weaving together play, learning, and creativity. Over the past 15 years — both in Ukraine and the United States — I have seen how even the simplest recipe can become a moment of discovery and joy.

Sharing Knowledge

Alongside my teaching and writing, I have also shared my experience through professional platforms. I wrote 10 culinary articles for professional early childhood education journals, and in 2020 I became one of the winners of the Educational Technologies competition organized by the journal Preschool Education, where several of my articles were also published. I have spoken at professional webinars — including one for preschool teachers taking advanced training courses, and another during a telebridge with students of Borys

Grinchenko Kyiv University, where I was invited to present my experience as an educator now living in the United States and to share insights into using culinary activities as a powerful tool in early childhood education. I had the opportunity to share my story and professional insights on three radio programs, including Ukrainian and diaspora stations, and I also appeared on Hope Channel Ukraine television.

My Mission

Through my books, classes, and projects, I aim to inspire families to see cooking as more than daily routine — to embrace it as a gentle practice of love, learning, and togetherness. After all, the most important thing we prepare in the kitchen is not only food. It is so much more.

Sharing Knowledge

Short English Summary

Culinary Arts as a Teaching Tool

Cooking can become much more than just preparing tasty treats. In early childhood education, it is a powerful pedagogical instrument that combines play, learning…

First Cookies Made by Children

This article, originally published in the Ukrainian journal “Dytyna i svit” (2018, №9), describes a detailed scenario for an introductory culinary activity with…