At A Grade Ahead, we love fall and winter for many reasons. The beautiful colors of autumn, the numerous holidays to celebrate, and the first snowfall of the season are all on the list. One of the top reasons is the advent of baking season. As the weather turns chilly, we must find ways to pass the time indoors. From making pies to decorating cakes to icing cookies, baking is a deliciously fun way to while away the hours. In addition to being fun, baking also offers numerous educational benefits, especially for kids. Baking with your children provides them opportunities to practice math, science, reading, creativity, and many more important life skills. Join us as we explore the educational benefits of baking.
Math, Science, and Reading
You have probably heard the saying, “Cooking is an art and baking is a science.” While baking does offer opportunities for creativity, it typically requires more precision than cooking. When I cook, I usually make things up as I go, but when I bake, I always follow a recipe. For this reason, baking is a great way for children to practice reading, math, and science skills. Following a recipe first requires reading the recipe. Math skills come into play through numbers in precise quantities, units of measurement, and temperatures. Science enters the picture through observing what happens as we combine and bake ingredients. Anticipating a scrumptious result keeps kids engaged during all these educational processes.
In our enrichment classes, students learn about weight and liquid volume starting in 3rd grade. Topics like these translate to real-life situations like baking. Our curriculum is designed to sharpen skills that will benefit your child in the classroom and beyond. Are you interested in enriching your child’s math skills? Call or visit an academy near you to get a free curriculum sample, take a free assessment, or sign up for a free trial class today!
Fine Motor Development and Sensory Exploration
While older kids can help with reading and math when baking, younger kiddos can get in on the action as well. Preschool-aged kids love the sensory exploration part of baking. From touch, taste, smell, vision, and hearing, all the senses are important in the kitchen. Little kids especially enjoy the tactile activities. They can pass hours simply playing with a lump of dough. With proper supervision, little kids can help pour, mix, and knead. These hands-on activities are a great way for them to develop fine motor skills. Kids love to feel the different textures of ingredients, and they are fascinated by the changes that happen throughout the baking process. Baking is also a great opportunity to teach kids about kitchen safety like wearing oven mitts and safely using cutlery. In addition to feeling all the different textures, kids can engage their sense of smell, hearing, and vision. Let your kids smell each ingredient and decide if they like it or not. Teach them to listen for the timer when it goes off. If your oven has a window, allow them to peek inside so they can watch what happens as the items bake.
Did you know A Grade Ahead offers academic enrichment for students as early as Pre-kindergarten? The earlier you start your child at A Grade Ahead, the greater the benefits you will see!
Creativity
Baking may be a science, but it also leaves room for artistic creativity. After the actual baking is complete, kids can have a blast decorating. My girls have always enjoyed decorating baked goods, especially cookies. Using sprinkles, candy, and frosting, they love to go all out when decorating cookies. We have even made and colored our own frosting. Making and coloring frosting is a great way to teach kids basic color theory. They love mixing primary colors to make secondary colors. They can also learn how to make bright vibrant colors versus more subtle pastels. What could be more fun for kids than an art project they get to eat?
Social Skills
Along with academic benefits, baking also provides children a chance to practice social skills. Baking is a great way for families and friends to bond through teamwork and community building. If you bake as a group, you can teach children about teamwork by delegating tasks. Have one child read out the recipe while another gathers and prepares the ingredients. You can assign easier tasks, like pouring and mixing, to younger kids so they can also be a part of the process. Another fun social aspect of baking is sharing recipes. At A Grade Ahead, we love to talk about our favorite treats and trade recipes. Sharing recipes is one of our favorite ways to foster a strong sense of community.
Boosts Confidence
In addition to all the practical benefits of baking, it is also a great way to boost a child’s confidence. Through baking, children can see, smell, touch, and taste the fruit of their labor. They can even hear results through compliments from taste testers. It is very satisfying to hear someone say, “Mmm… that’s delicious!” when they taste a treat you baked! Being a part of a process that delivers such versatile results is very positively impactful for children.
At A Grade Ahead, we love to make learning fun, and we have fun baking and enjoying delicious treats! Do you enjoy baking? Have you ever baked together as a family or with a group of friends? What are some of your favorite recipes? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!
Author: Amanda Hutson, Curriculum Assistant at A Grade Ahead
