In my best childhood Christmas memories, I’m standing in my mother’s kitchen, flour covering the kitchen floor like fresh fallen snow, my hands sticky with cookie dough, the occasional broken egg running off the edge of the counter, and the delicious aroma of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven.
Holiday baking is a tradition in many Canadian homes. Involving kids in the process not only creates fun holiday memories, but reinforces skills that can help them succeed in school and in life.
“The sky’s the limit when it comes to benefits that kids get from cooking in the kitchen,” says Michelle Friese, owner of Calgary’s Epicurious Kids Cookery. Baking brings the classroom into your kitchen reinforcing concepts learned in school. “A lot of the core subjects that kids learn in school can relate directly to cooking at home,” says Friese, who has a Master’s degree in education. From fractions to the scientific method, literacy and creativity, the kitchen is a hands-on classroom where kids can put abstract concepts into practice. “A lot of kids wonder, why am I learning this? Well, they see through cooking that there are many practical reasons why they’re learning these things,” says Friese.
Turn your holiday cookie recipe into a fun math lesson. Count eggs while cracking them into a bowl and explain how fractions work using measuring cups. Instead of measuring out one cup of flour, have kids pour two half cups, then show them how those two half cups add up to one full cup. If you’re making a batch of cookies that yields 20, but you only want to make 10, show kids how to cut the recipe amounts in half. If the 20-cookie recipe calls for 1 ½ cups of sugar, ask how much sugar you will need if you’re only making 10 cookies?
Encourage kids to be creative in the kitchen, especially when it comes to holiday baking. Allow them to decorate cookies freely, making their own special creations to show off, or eat. Giving kids this freedom empowers them not only in the kitchen but in life. “(Cooking) has a really great effect on kids’ self esteem. It builds huge confidence because they’re able to take [ownership] of what they’re doing,” says Friese.
Even if your kids don’t enjoy reading, get them to read the steps of the recipe to you out loud.
Cooking can help kids to practice and remember the scientific method. When trying a new recipe you can make a hypothesis on how certain ingredients will taste, or how big the cookie will be when it comes out of the oven. Then experiment, notice results and make conclusions.
Cooking is a social activity that creates opportunity for conversation about other important life topics. Discuss where ingredients come from and the importance of nutrition. Even though holiday baking mostly involves sweet treats that are generally unhealthy, working together in the kitchen opens the door to have a conversation about why and when we’re allowed to eat treats and the importance of making healthy choices. Use the opportunity to ask kids if they would like to be your kitchen helper during the year. “Generally kids who help out in the kitchen at home eat more fruits and vegetables and they will make healthier choices lifelong,” says Friese.
Working with food is a great time to teach kids about the importance of hand washing and even lessons about cross contamination and food safety. “That kind of knowledge is really important throughout your whole life,” says Friese.
Fine Motor Skills
While you may not want younger children to use any kitchen equipment, they can pour, stir, kneed, mash and, if provided with kid-friendly kitchen tools, even cut. Friese recommends Curious Chef – a brand of kid-friendly knives made of plastic that are sharp enough to cut fruit and vegetables but won’t cut little fingers.
Create a Kid-Friendly Kitchen
Baking is a wonderful family holiday activity. In addition to teaching these important life skills, holiday baking creates joyful memories kids will cherish into adulthood. Making the experience as enjoyable as possible means planning ahead to create a kid-friendly kitchen.
Have a sturdy stool or step for kids to sit on
Use plastic measuring cups instead of glass
Use kid-friendly kitchen tools
Put a pan or baking sheet underneath when kids are pouring ingredients to avoid spills. “That way all the mess goes onto the pan so it’s no big deal if they spill,” says Friese.
Allow more time than you would normally need to make the recipe
Give children specific, manageable tasks such as washing fruit and vegetables, mixing, or measuring a cup of sugar.
Epicurious Kids Cookery is hosting special holiday classes in gingerbread house decorating. Register online at www.epicuriouskids.ca