In today’s world, quality time spent with family members is sometimes lacking. Introducing family baking times to your family is a wonderful idea and can really bring everyone closer while participating in a fun task that results in delicious goodies. The joys of baking with children are too numerous to list, and you’ll find this precious time with your youngsters is beneficial in so many ways.
Whether you are baking cookies, muffins, biscuits, or a cake, the quality time spent together is priceless and, even though you are having fun in the process, you are actually teaching many life-long skills to your children. When using food coloring, children can learn all about colors and what happens when you combine two different colors. They learn patience through taking the time to prepare all of the ingredients and waiting for the finished product. Precision is necessary for the proper combination of ingredients as well, and what if the cake doesn’t turn out so great? They will understand all about learning from mistakes and trying again instead of giving up.
Children learn many other things from baking with family. Hygiene is of utmost importance while baking and at all other times as well. Baking with kids teaches them to keep clean hands as well as a clean environment. This is a great time to talk about germs and how to prevent germs from spreading from person to person. Teaching children how to clean up messes can be fun and it also teaches them an important life-long skill. And how about reading comprehension and vocabulary development? All sorts of new words are throughout recipes. What a great time to practice reading skills.
Mathematics and science really come into play when baking, so as you are baking with your child they are learning real-life concepts that they will then rely on later in life. Measurement, fractions, adding, subtracting, and even multiplication and division are used when following recipes. Most kids learn through having fun and sometimes they are having so much fun they don’t even realize they are learning important lessons.
Safety issues are extremely important when baking with children and they should be stressed at all times. Keep a handy safety checklist posted on the refrigerator to help children remember safety rules. Over time, they will have the list memorized and know everything there is to know about being safe while using heat, knives, stools, and electric appliances, such as blenders, beaters, and ovens. Even if the child is older, say nine or ten, they should still always ask permission to use the kitchen and parental guidance should be administered when they are using things such as knives or electrical appliances.
In addition to the numerous things that kids can learn while baking with you, the quality time spent in the kitchen is fun and enjoyable. Your kids will love spending time with you and digging in to all of the mixing, pouring, stirring, beating, and kneading that happens when we bake. Let little ones mix ingredients with their hands, or pour the ingredients into a plastic zipper bag and let them have fun squeezing it. You can also cut a tiny hole in the corner of a zipper bag to create a pastry bag that they can use to squeeze icing onto a cake or cookies. Kids also love to punch and knead dough, which is a great tactile learning activity.
About the Author: Briana Kelly has over 5 years experience in the field of content writing and copywriting. She specialises in childcare advice and parenting. She regularly writes for Giraffe Childcare, an Irish based daycare provider.
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