CHILDREN IN THE KITCHEN

Children of all ages and gender, benefit from spending time in the kitchen. With the easy to follow children's recipes, kids are introduced to basic math skills, reading and comprehension. Using a recipe will also develop their ability to follow directions; one of the most important skills a child needs for a successful school experience.

Organise and follow through. From shopping for ingredients through cleaning up, baking projects show kids the value of doing a job properly and thoroughly.

Develop patience and precision. If you mis-measure or skip a step, your baking project will disappoint.

Learn real-world math. Measuring teaches fractions. Cutting brownies or a cake into servings demonstrates division. And waiting for the oven buzzer helps kids understand units of time.

Improve reading comprehension and vocabulary. Recipes are good practice for other kinds of instructional reading.

Cultivate scientific curiosity. What makes a cake rise? What happens when you heat chocolate? Kids love baking “magic” and the explanations behind it.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Baking success starts with appropriate expectations. Give kids jobs suited to their abilities, and praise them generously when they complete a task. Make sure each baking experience is a positive one, even if the results aren’t quite what you expected!

Children as young as two or three can participate in simple baking activities such as pouring, stirring, and decorating. By five or six, kids enjoy measuring, making cookie-cutter shapes, and using a rotary beater. At nine or ten, most children have the coordination to operate electric equipment such as blenders and microwave ovens and the reading skills to understand recipes.

For your first project, choose a recipe that uses familiar ingredients—sugar, eggs, flour, butter, chocolate chips—and basic techniques such as blending, stirring, and spooning. Many cookie batters can be “squished” with the fingers (much easier for kids than stirring with a wooden spoon).