One thing we do a lot in our house is bake! As soon as my boys see the mixer and measuring cups come out, they pull up a chair to "help". Their idea of helping does make it a longer (and messier) process, but it is a lot of fun!
The obvious outcome to baking with your kids is having a yummy treat for snack or dessert, but there are some other benefits too!
Some benefits beyond tasty treats are:
Development of Fine Motor Skills - Opening a box of cake mix, cracking an egg, measuring and mixing batter are great ways to practice Fine Motor Skills and hand-eye coordination.
Math - Ask your child to read the numbers/amounts on the recipe and help you count eggs or measure the water, flour and sugar. They will be practicing math skills without realizing it.
Reading - Reading the recipe on a cake, muffin, cookie or brownie box is the perfect place for a beginning reader to start. My son has zero interest in reading a book, but he LOVES to read the ingredient list and the little pictures on the box next to the wording really help!
Science - How does the batter we just made turn into a yummy treat? It is perfectly fine not to have a complex answer to this, but a very simple explanation will work well and be sure to explain that leaving out even one small ingredient could make a big difference in the finished product.
I asked a few mom's if they bake with their kids and what they feel their kids get out of it when spending time in the kitchen. Here is what they had to say:
"I don't bake very often, but when I do, I try and let the kids help. They love to crack eggs, pour ingredients, and help mix batter. I'd like to think they are learning a little about following directions and measurement....but really I think they just help to lick the batter when we are done!" ~ Jamie C
"My boys and I bake together once a week. We often make a cake or homemade chocolate chip cookies. I think it is very important to spend that quality time in the kitchen with them. Not only are we bonding, they are learning how ingredients work together, counting and measuring, and not to mention they are getting much needed cooking skills that some lucky girl will appreciate later in life!" ~ Megan B
"My girls love cooking/baking with me in the kitchen. I let them pick the recipe, we've made fun things like pink, purple and white rainbow cookies, pancakes, waffles, french fries, blueberry muffins (whatever it is they choose). For me, I love to bake and I feel they've gotten that out of it too. I want them to realize you can make anything you see in a bakery, we just need to find the recipe and have some patience." ~ Sheri G
"We are constantly baking! We LOVE it over here! Baking is a mix of fine motor skills, science & math concepts, and spending time with your kids... among a lot of other benefits. We just made chocolate cookies on Saturday and the recipe called for chocolate chips and cocoa powder. I let my kids taste the two items separately and we talked about why they were different even though they both were made from cocoa. We also made apple crisp last week and I have safety knives from pampered chef for my kids and I peeled the apples and they cut them into small pieces. They love knowing that they helped with every step!" ~ Christi M
"One time a month we make challah with all 3 of our kids. We make about 12 loaves and bake and freeze them so we have fresh challah each shabbat. Our kids love to make their own mini challahs and every Friday they are thrilled to pull the special bread they made out of the freezer to be served with Shabbat dinner. The tradition of making challah is very special in Judaism and is a wonderful memory I have from my mom who made (and still makes) fresh challah every Friday. For us it is more the tradition and passing down something that Jews have done for generations. Everything about making challah has a tradition and symbolism to it. The number of braids, the bread that you burn before you bake, the prayers that go along with making the bread and serving it. It is really amazing the strong symbolism a loaf or bread has to us." ~ Rebecca P
"Yes! In fact he often bakes on his own, calls it an experiment and occasionally it's edible. He likes to pretend he's doing a cooking show." ~ Lauren L
Do you bake with your kids? I would love to hear about some of your experiences, please use the comment section below!
