Families who homeschool their children find the most creative ways to deliver educational content that makes learning fun and engaging, often with resources that are readily available or accessible. The kitchen is the perfect place for homeschooling parents to use as a classroom for applying practical knowledge from different subjects and have a fun- and delicious! – learning experience at the same time.
For example, the kitchen is a great place to practice and apply math skills. Cooking and baking rely heavily on measurements, especially the metric system (e.g., 4 grams of sugar in a cookie recipe) or fractions (like one half cup of milk for a sauce). Cooking is an opportunity for kids to learn to appreciate the differences between solid and liquid measures like ¼ cup of butter diced versus that same amount melted. Doubling or halving recipes allows kids to critically think as they cook and to let them calculate how much more or less of an ingredient they would need. Adjusting recipes requires math to make certain dishes sweeter, less salty or spicy, more fluffy, less dense, or in larger quantities or sizes. Try rolling out pie crust or pizza dough in different sizes. Calculate cooking times for different size baking dishes or let kids figure out how cooking times vary if the oven temperature changes . Try measuring ingredients blindly then weighing them on a food scale to check for accuracy, alternating between solid or liquid ingredients.
The kitchen is also an ideal laboratory to apply practical aspects of science. Within cooking and baking, scientific reactions occur all the time! Adding heat makes liquids boil, reduce or thicken; the oven turns liquid ingredients to solids and change colors. Baking soda, a key ingredient used in baking, causes a chemical reaction with other ingredients to create tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide for light, fluffy pancakes, layer cakes, or cookies while baking powder causes a reaction that makes baked items rise and have a lighter texture. Too much, or too little, of each leads to a baking failure. Yeast for breads is a living organism and watching it bubble and bloom demonstrates the chemical reactions occurring with the ingredients. Eggs need to be gently tempered with hot liquid before adding them to other ingredients to avoid them clumping or curdling.
Cooking in the kitchen with kids is an ideal time to teach them about health and nutrition. Kids can improve their health literacy by calculating the amount of calories, sodium, fats, sugars or proteins that are in a portion or serving by reading nutrition labels. Kids can also see what ingredients are in packaged foods and search the internet to learn more about the ones they are not familiar with.
The kitchen is also an ideal platform to teach kids about safety. Cooking and baking can be dangerous if not done properly. Kids can learn fire safety when learning how to use flame burners or the stove. While preparing food, parents can teach kids about properly storing and refrigerating food, how to wash and store produce, and how to use hand hygiene skills to prevent cross contamination. Knife skills and cutting safety teach kids to prevent injury. Carefully adding ingredients, especially liquids to hot items, teaches kids to prevent burns, splashes, or flame flare ups. Washing dishes teaches kids how to properly clean and store cooking or eating items and organizational skills. Cleaning the kitchen teaches kids the importance of disinfecting work or food preparation surfaces.
One of the most significant impacts the kitchen classroom has is to teach kids about culture through food. Kids can learn about other cultures and then prepare a traditional dish from a specific area or group. Cooking with kids allows them to learn about their own culture or family meal traditions, or about specific family members who made them in the past. Different generations of family members can be invited to join kids and parents in the kitchen (including electronically!) to help with the meal preparation or to share stories from the past about a specific ingredient, meal or holiday. Food is unifying and sharing a meal, especially one that was made together, brings people around one table. Cooking or baking does not have to be elaborate or labor-intensive; some of the most delicious meals have the simplest ingredients and are easy to prepare. Kids can start out by making one part of the meal like the salad or by setting or decorating the table, gradually advancing to preparing side dishes, desserts, or the main meal. It’s a great way to boost kids’ self-esteem and confidence! Cookbooks, like my own “Prenatal Possibilities…Recipes for a Healthy Pregnancy and Beyond”, provide step-by-step instructions to make meal preparation seamless, delicious, and nutritious.
The kitchen is more than just a place to cook food. It is an ideal classroom for homeschooling parents to teach kids invaluable life skills and solidify academic knowledge. Indeed, it’s the most fun place to learn and the end product is delicious to enjoy. It’s a win! There’s so much to explore and do in the kitchen. Let’s get cooking and enjoy endless possibilities!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
