Baking Lessons

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• Canada Cooks

Math skills get a workout when you bake cookies with your kids.

By Louise Racine

Most kids love to help in the kitchen, especially with baking. Sure, it might take a little longer and end up being a bit messier, but it’s a great opportunity for them to learn valuable life skills.

With many families relying on packaged and convenience foods due to busy schedules, the practice of making meals and snacks from scratch is diminishing. However, what better way for parents and kids to spend quality time together while doing something healthy and educational?

Cooking educational

How can cooking be educational? Let me count the ways. First, measuring ingredients helps reinforce your child’s basic math skills. Since recipes call for fractions and the ability to distinguish between different measurement tools (i.e., teaspoons versus tablespoons), kids not only get a sense of volume but also get to practise mental math.

Second, youngsters who help with meal preparation have a better appreciation for the effort – and ingredients – that go into creating healthy meals. Using whole fresh ingredients opens the door to a discussion about the benefits and properties of certain foods. Active involvement in the process of shopping and prepping encourages kids to try new foods. Cooking even helps kids to develop their creativity – cooking is not just a chore, after all.

Third, culinary experiences teach kids about nutrition, food safety and hygiene. They can learn the benefits of eating unprocessed foods made with wholesome ingredients. And it’s a good opportunity to reinforce the importance of washing hands and handling food properly to prevent illness.

Easy to get volunteers

Delegate tasks to your kids according to age and level of difficulty. Younger kids, for instance, love stirring and adding ingredients. All kids love cracking eggs. Obviously, for safety reasons, only parents or older children should place food in hot ovens and use the stovetop.

Baking is a good place to start your child’s training. Most kids love sweet treats, so it’s usually easy to get volunteers to help with baking. Here are a couple of festive recipes from the winter chapter of my cookbook Thirteen Moons – Seasonal Recipes to Nourish and Inspire

Ginger Cookies

These cookies are a crispy treat that will be warmly welcomed by family, friends and teachers. >>

Luscious Lava Cakes

Rich and runny with a deep, dark, delicious chocolate centre, these will be the hit at your next special event. You can make them ahead and freeze them before baking. If kids will be indulging in these treats, you might want to make them in mini muffin tins and reduce the baking time by about 5 minutes. >>