Hope everyone enjoyed the day. We certainly did. The kids made cookies...chocolate chip to be precise. The kids both enjoy cooking and baking. I will admit it is very, very time consuming, but well worth the effort. Not only is there the fun bonding time, but there are lots of lessons to be learned.
First, following directions of the recipe. Usborne Books at Home has a line of cookbooks for young children and adults too who are learning to cook. The instructions are very simple and many have a picture for the pre-readers. Also, if you have children with food allergies, I have found it fairly easy to substitute the allergic ingredient with the non allergic ingredient and the end result is delicious.
Second, basic math skills can be easily incorporated with the different measurements. And for the younger ones, simple counting, one to one correspondence, lessons in size difference as well.
Third, delayed gratification is another important lesson learned. This is a hard one for the first time bakers to understand. They think their cookies should be done instantly. The first time we baked cookies with my then 2 year old, she could not understand why she could not have her cookie NOW. It did open up a very basic science lesson on how the oven works.
Whatever cooking/ baking you decide to do with your children most importantly enjoy the process and the end result.
