Baking with the kiddos
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I started baking with P when we moved to the house. Somehow baking in the condo was daunting, but probably P was just too young and the kitchen too awkward to do much. At that point, Michael was working the weekends. So P and I had to find ways to fill our days, preferably without screens, but also with some learning and knocking off errands if possible.
Sometimes the result is great, see first slideshow below. Sometimes the results are a “Funny or Fail”, see the second slideshow. Regardless, it’s a blast to bake with the little for a variety of reasons.
Reasons to bake with you little
Together time with you nugget
Teaching the science of baking
Teaching math
Giving to others
Making fresh food together
Together time with you nugget - I love that over the last six years we have built a routine. We now bake together regularly and P devises challenges for us to meet each week.
Teaching the science of baking - Food science is a great way to introduce your kids to science. You can explore how different fats, such as butter or oil, impact the outcome of your baking differently. Maybe you could discuss how eggs act as an emulsifier with their different protein parts reacting differently to water or fat. Talking about baking soda and its chemical reaction when combined with an acid can be a fun discussion that you can even show by mixing baking soda with vinegar.
Teaching math - Early on before he could possibly understand, I showed P the ingredients in a recipe and how they translated to the cups and spoons used to measure ingredients. Not only is it a great opportunity to teach fractions, but also teach how to follow instructions (i.e., the recipe). We now use a scale to measure out our dry ingredients (SO MUCH EASIER!) and it’s fun to switch back and forth between grams and ounces to get a sense of weight measures.
Giving to others - Since I’m on Keto, I don’t eat sweets. Sure, I check to make sure they’re not poison (haha), but other than that we share our baked goods with our neighbors.
Making fresh food together - This is the selfish bit. Because I was alone on the weekends, I needed to find a way to entertain my little guy preferably without screens, but still try to get sh*t done. I wanted to make him fresh snacks, as much as possible, so I knew what ingredients were in them. This is where baking came in. I could make him fresh banana muffins, granola, yogurt (ok that’s cooking) to satisfy my need to provide healthy snacks, but also keep my kiddo entertained. He loved being with mommy, cracking eggs and generally making a mess. I loved the time I spent with him doing this, but also being productive. Win win.
To this day, P comes up with new ideas and challenges for our baking adventure. We developed a built in activity that I hope will always connect us. Do you bake with your kids? Please share some of your experiences in the comment section below!
