How Children Learn Through Baking

The Great British Bake Off is a favourite programme in our house as well as many other households across the country. As a family we look forward to it every year and it inspires us to get baking at home. From savoury pies to sugary cupcakes, there are a myriad things to bake and enjoy.

I love to flick through recipe books and scroll through Pinterest marking recipes I would like to make. However, I usually stick to the same tried and tested recipes over and over again. So this month it is my goal to start making those new recipes I've bookmarked. I am making it my goal to bake at least one new recipe each week this month. Each week I will choose a recipe and make sure I go out and buy the ingredients that I need to make it. If I have all the ingredients to hand then there will be no excuses!

Another great way to motivate myself will be to have the children help me with this goal. We love to bake together as a family. Not only do we enjoy eating our creations, the whole baking process is a lot of fun. Furthermore, it is educational and the children don't even realise it! Here are some ways that baking can be educational.

Life skills

Let's start at the very beginning of the process; shopping. Shopping is a valuable life skill that we all need learn. It involves so many skills such as the abilities to write a list, interact with others and use money. Before you go shopping, ask your children to look at the recipe and see which ingredients you already have at home and which ones you will need to buy. Ask them to write a shopping list for all the ingredients you will need to buy with the correct quantities. When you get to the shop, see if the children can locate each item and place it in the trolley. Look at the prices of the items and watch out for special offers. If something is reduced by a percentage, see if the children can work out the reduced price. Then let them pay at the end, hand over the correct notes and coins and see how much changed they get.

Baking is the next life skill they will learn. It is a wonderful skill that will allow them to enjoy fresh, homemade dishes and make healthier choices about what they eat. Not only will their creations be delicious to eat, they will also be a source of delight for their friends and family too.

Finally, baking creates a lot of mess that will have to be cleaned up so it is a good chance for the children to do some chores. Younger children love to help with the washing up and they will love to help you wipe over the kitchen surfaces too. Give them the broom or the dustpan and brush and they will sweep for you too. Older children may not be so keen to clear up after themselves but they need to learn that it's necessary work that is a part of life and needs to be done.

Literacy

Children can also practise literacy skills through baking. They will need to know how to read in order to read the recipe and follow the instructions. They will also need to read the words on the food packets as well as the signs at the supermarket. Let your children write a shopping list for a bit of writing practise. If they would like to write something longer, they may wish to write out the recipe in their cookbook. It can be really fun for your children to create their own recipe books with all their favourite recipes inside!

Mathematics

Baking is a practical and fun way for children to learn mathematical skills. As I mentioned above, their are lots of mathematical opportunities that arise during shopping trips. Also there is the opportunity to learn about quantities and measurements. Get the weighing scales out and let your children help you weigh the ingredients. Talk about different ways of measuring. Sometimes you need the scales but other times you will use a jug or a spoon. Talk about the different units of measurements - millilitres for liquids, grams or ounces for dry ingredients. Then there are cups and spoon measurements too. You can also talk about the heat of the oven and what temperature it needs to be. Finally, the amount of minutes it will need to bake. Get out a timer or look at the clock and discuss the units of time.

Creativity

Baking will no doubt test your children's creative skills. Will they need to mould bread into rolls or loaves or cut biscuits into different shapes. If the pre-baking stage does not involve much artistry, the post-baking stage will. When the biscuits or cakes come out of the oven there is lots of creative fun to be had. Children particularly love to have a go at icing their creations. Have them make their own icing and apply it to their treats. How will they apply the icing? Will they spread it with a knife? Will they pipe it? or will they roll it out and cut it to shape? There are so many options and it is always fun to add some sprinkles too!

I cannot wait to spend more time baking with my children this month and trying out new recipes. Which are your favourite recipes? Do let me know in the comments below!

Welcome to the Monthly Goals link up! Do you plan your month ahead? Have you anything in particular that your looking forward to this month? Is there anything in your life that needs 

focus? Kids, family, self... what is your motivation? This blog hop and link up is to help you 

make new friends and find a partner to stay accountable to. Every month, a group of us get together to write our monthly goals. This helps us stay connected, accountable as well as 

inspire other moms to know how we do it all.

You are welcome to join us by leaving a comment telling us about your goal. If you are a 

blogger and interested in joining, leave me a message and we'll send you an invite! Visit the 

other participants to seek some inspiration or just give them some support. This month the participating blogs are:

Preparing for Ramadan: 5 things to do right now! by Jeddah Mom