I can’t remember a time I didn’t love to bake, cook or create in the kitchen. I bought my first cookbook (with kid friendly and easy recipes) in elementary school, took Home Economics in middle school, created inventive after school snacks in High School and was a whiz with a hot pot in my college dorm room.
When I began my journey with SHED Children’s Campus at Kids Club, I was excited to share my passion of baking with the children. I always made sure to implement some sort of baking or cooking into my curriculum each month. I enjoyed watching the group mix, measure and read the recipe of what they had chosen to bake that month. I also loved hearing the children share with their parents, “Look what I made! Do you want to try one?”
As Shed Children’s Campus has grown and evolved and I have moved from the Kid’s Club program to the Monarch preschool, I have been enjoying the experience of baking with a different age group. There is also great satisfaction in finding recipes that match our philosophy (using natural ingredients, creating recipes from scratch, using items from our gardens) and finding out how to incorporate everything into a recipe the group has chosen to make.
Baking and cooking gives children a sense of community. From the bake sales we have held to raise money for the Jimmy Fund ( a charity close to our hearts), to delivering baked goods to the Andover Senior Center, Police Station and Fire Department.
The children are also getting so much more than a tasty treat when they help create in the kitchen.
- math skills
- reading
- cooperation
- fine motor skills
- science (reactions)
- building confidence
In all of my years working with children (and being a mom myself) I have found (with children of all different interests, ages, activity levels), once you ask “Who wants to help bake?” – time stops and everyone comes together to help. That is what community is all about…making and breaking bread together.
