Baking with Kids!
When my boys were little, we were always baking or cooking something. One loved making cookies and the other enjoyed making more elaborate desserts or meals. Either way it was something I felt could be very valuable in their growth. I am going to list my reasoning for enjoying the split four, crack eggshells, and enjoy messy hands and faces.
- Lifelong Lessons
My girlfriends used to be like “How do you have the patients?” Honestly, I looked at it in a different perspective. I saw it as a growing lifelong lesson for my boys. We felt getting kids into the kitchen helped them enjoy trying different things and having them help made them more interested in the process! For us raising boys we always want them to never have to rely on their spouses as they get older to do it all. Cooking was only one of the many lessons our boys have gotten through the years. Hey, what women doesn’t love having a man cook for them??
Having the boys in the kitchen help build their self-esteem by giving them the skills they need to feel accomplished. These life skills are ones that will last forever and continuously evolve.
- Math Skills
Kids learn all kinds of mathematical concepts while baking. When they are helping to dump 2 cups of flour into a bowl, they are counting. When they help to measure 1/4 a cup of sugar, they are learning about parts of wholes and fractions. When they are helping you ensure that 1 cup of milk is lined up with the line on the measuring cup, they are learning about volume and capacity and the accuracy of measurement.
Kids also learn through experience and to have them help us was the way we could teach them. There are so many math lessons in baking these are just a few.
- Scientific Concepts
There are lots of opportunities to discuss science while baking. We always talked about temperature and how we use degrees to measure it. Which would usually turn in to a 100-question game about what temperature would do what to different items. You know those silly questions lol.
If your recipe calls for baking soda, you can talk about how it is used to help make breads and cookies rise by releasing carbon dioxide bubbles in the batter when mixed with an acid and exposed to heat.
These are two that always spiked interest in my boys. If you did in deep to each specific recipe there are many more scientific facts that you can teach your children.
- Reading and Vocabulary Skills
Baking/Cooking always helped my boys with reading. There were different words that they didn’t use on a daily basis that made them think. Like different verbs like whisk, beat, smooth, flatten things like that. So, from pronunciation to comprehension of the word they were learning. It’s crazy as adults what we can teach our children by just doing everyday tasks.
All and all baking and cooking helps our children connect with us. Involving them in everyday chores kept them intrigued and their minds going. There was always the wonder and excitement in their eyes when we were about to make a new recipe. These skills have proven to be successful for our family and I hope they can be for yours.
I am not a teacher or any type of professional just a mom who had positive results. Hope you enjoyed this article!
Danielle Amey Specialized Disney Travel Planner
