Baking allows children to learn and practice useful skills while participating in a fun activity. When you are looking for something to do with a child that will engage him or her mentally, consider the educational benefits of baking together. Here are four classroom skills that are reinforced through baking.
Recipes generally use simple, concise wording, but reading them is still a necessary skill. Beginning readers will be helped by the predictability of recipe language, like common instructional verbs, and of recipe organization, like ingredient lists with frequently recurring words. For added support, you might read a recipe aloud beforehand and then ask your helper(s) to read the steps as you go. A more advanced reader can read the recipe aloud independently, gathering the necessary ingredients and keeping everyone informed as to the next steps.
When using a recipe, baking requires following directions. Instructions are provided in a series of sequential steps. Children will become familiar with completing one step and checking back to remember what needs to be done next. Understanding and following directions is helpful for children, who are often given multi-step directions in the classroom.
Baking involves learning and practicing a number of math skills as well. Counting, accurate measurement, elapsed time, and temperature are all basic math concepts that come into play in the kitchen. More specifically, measuring cups and spoons provide a wonderful introduction or review of fractions. For beginners, simply recognizing the fraction is a good start, so have the child find the ¼ cup, or the ½ teaspoon. At some point when you have a little extra time, you might let the child measure two half cups into a cup, or three thirds, to help with his or her understanding. As this concept takes hold, you can play a little. If the recipe calls for 1 ½ cups flour, for example, ask for at least three ways that the necessary quantity could be measured. Or take away the most obvious choice, requiring a more creative solution.
A final skill used in baking that can carry over to the classroom is the evaluation of the results. Did the end product turn out as expected? Was the quantity accurate? Did the recipe have to be adjusted in any way, such as lowering the oven temperature or reducing the baking time? Is this a recipe you would want to make again? Would you want to do it exactly the same way or can you think of anything you might do differently? Encourage creative thinking - altering a recipe by adding or replacing ingredients can often yield something deliciously original. I often make notes in the margins of my cookbooks, reflecting my experience with the recipe and/or ideas for changing it.
Through baking, children learn and practice fundamental skills that will serve them well in the kitchen and in the classroom.
I invite you to read more of my EzineArticles on Baking with Kids.
Stephanie Tuttle is a teacher and freelance writer whose areas of interest include fun activities to share with children, baking, teaching and learning Spanish, travel, soccer, and structuring a daily writing practice. Browse her other articles by clicking on the link below.
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