Snow Day, Baking Day!

A fun, and educational, way of passing the snow day with your child, or children, is to go to the kitchen and  bake up a storm!  Some of you may look at me like I am crazy, but baking is a great educational tool for young children.  Plus, it's fun!  When you bake with your child, you get the chance to make memories and share quality time together.  Your child can also learn while baking too.




Your child can get extra practice learning:

Shapes
Colors
Numbers
Measuring
Letters
Fine motor skills-Rolling, whisking, pouring, kneading, stirring
Sorting
Sequencing- 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Problem Solving
Comprehension skills
New vocabulary
Reading and Pre-reading skills
Making predictions
Sensory exploration
The 5 Senses
Creativity
Responsibility
Sharing
Kindness
Social/Emotional Skills
Cooperation

Selections on this list came from http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/kids-learn-while-cooking.html .

Wow!!!  I know!  That's a lot of learning in a fun way!  I bake with the children at school.  Last year, we made Pumpkin Spice cookies with icing at Halloween and Gingerbread Cookies at Christmas Time.  The kids even got to ice their own cookie with a spoon! :)  (Note: My plan for this week, when/if we get back to school, is to make pancakes with the kids this week since we are learning about the letter P.)

So break out the cook books, have your child pull up a chair and start baking!  You can bake dad's favorite dessert, make cookies for a special neighbors, friends or family, or pay if forward and have your child help you make cookies for someone to help them learn about random acts of kindness.  Yes it can, and will, be messy, but your children will learn to clean up after themselves and so many other skills by doing this fun, simple activity.  It's a process, and they will have fun from start to finish!



Here are some great sites and Pinterest boards for ideas and recipes to use with your kids!

Happy Baking! :)


http://www.artfulparent.com/cooking-with-kids-35-fun-ideas-and-recipes.html

http://www.bettycrocker.com/menus-holidays-parties/bakewithkids

http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Kids-cooking+5.htm

http://www.pinterest.com/lizwsmith/baking-ideas-for-kids/

http://www.pinterest.com/chelmsford0981/baking-with-kids/

http://www.pinterest.com/sarahjww/cooking-baking-with-kids/