# data[].attributes.headline
How might we teach kids about cooking/baking through play?

# data[].attributes.subject
How might we teach kids about cooking/baking through play?

# data[].attributes.body
1. https://www.superhealthykids.com/parenting/10-cooking-skills-your-kids-should-know/
2. https://washingtonparent.com/teach-kids-science-through-baking/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
MOMables® - Mealtime Solutions for Busy Parents!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you been wondering at what age your kids can start helping out in the kitchen? What is appropriate and what isn't for them to do? I have put together a list of age appropriate tasks for kids in the kitchen. This will help you teach your kid how to cook by age.

See my girl? She is 8. Little by little I've taught her basic kitchen skills. Sometimes, she assures me she doesn't like "X" and I tell her that she still needs to help me make the recipe.

Bonus: she can read! She can slowly read the meal plan recipe and help me make our food.

Teaching Kids How To Cook

I believe that teaching our kids a new kitchen skill should not be done during bewitching hours. Instead, use the weekends and non rush-hour times. I've found that I'm more patient (and not as critical) when I'm more relaxed.

Here is a breakdown of some age appropriate kitchen tasks you can use when you are helping your kids cook!

Cooking Tasks for 2-3 Year Olds

At this age, kids need high supervision. Focus on basic tasks and they'll do just fine. Toddlers can get involved in the kitchen with the following activities:

Setting the table

Squeezing lemons

Learning to match the silverware as you empty the dishwasher

Using the salad spinner

Picking the leaves off fresh herb stems

Gentle stirring

Mashing potatoes

Cooking Tasks for 4-5 Year Olds

Motor skills are more defined and they can focus better. This is a frustrating age for many parents because many kids will be doing the 2-3 age group while others the 6-7 -it depends how involved and interested they've been.

Work with your child to figure out what they are most interested in doing from each list and focus on things they can accomplish on their own, with minimal intervention from mom and dad. This is a great age to focus on independence while still doing many of the same tasks they were doing in the kitchen the year before.

Stirring independently

Setting the table

Putting away pots and pans from the dishwasher or drying rack

Greasing pans (with help)

Cooking Tasks for 6-7 Year Olds

Fine motor skills are developed so they can take on more detailed work, like using measuring spoons and forming meatballs or nuggets. They still need a lot of guidance and reminders of where to keep their fingers during grating and peeling.

Some of the things you can teach them to do at this age are:

Dicing and mincing vegetables (use a pairing knife and start with soft foods like strawberries)

Peeling raw potatoes with a peeler

Slicing and scooping avocados

Greasing pans

Using a microplane zester

Draining and rinsing canned beans

Pouring liquids into containers

Decorating dishes

Cooking Tasks for 8-9 Year Olds

This is my favorite age group. They can read! They can take on every task prior to this age group and teach new things based on their interest. You'll have to decide if they are mature enough to work at the stove; but you can start with easy toaster oven type of recipes if not.

This age group can learn to do the following tasks in the kitchen:

Using a pizza cutter can opener

Scooping batter into muffin cups

Scraping down the batter

Using the stand mixer

Putting away leftovers

Rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher

Pounding chicken

Skewering food

Make sandwiches and wraps

Chopping most foods (nothing much bigger than a paring knife or small serrated knife)

Kitchen Tasks for 10-12 Year Olds

This age group can usually work independently in the kitchen. Make sure they have learned basic kitchen skills and moved on up on skill level before they are left to make meals (even under supervision).

Rules still apply (and often need reminding) like use mittens and wash hands after touching chicken. Kids this age can even do basic stove tasks like scrambling eggs and flipping pancakes.

How To Teach Your Kids To Cook

One of the questions I'm often asked: what if I haven't taught my kids kitchen basics in each age group? Don't stress.

My suggestion is that regardless of when you start; teach with patience and be careful to not talk down to your kids when they are doing it wrong (I'm guilty of this). Talking "down" can be as simple as "let me show you" and... "hurry, let me take over" or as simple as our tone.

If you aren't "feeling it" then skip the teaching moment. We can do it quicker and avoid any hurt feelings -trust me.

If you've got teenagers in the house they can make nearly all the recipes in our meal plans. Win-win.

I want to encourage you to teach your kids one skill each month. Just one.

Cooking along side our kids is a great opportunity to talk about life. It gives us the opportunity to connect and teach our kids about the things we find important (like our food and health).

Recipes For Kids To Cook By Themselves

You know, I love a simple meal, so most of the recipes you'll find here on MOMables will be simple enough to get the kids involved.

One of the biggest perks of teaching kids to cook is that it encourages them to try whatever is on the table. This can be a great strategy to help your children be more adventurous with the food items they are willing to eat.

I'm so excited to share this fantastic resource from my friend Katie.

Katie has a passion for helping kids learn how to cook real food in the kitchen! Not only that, but she gives you the information to use at home in little bite-size pieces!

Starting with this snack book. It has 10 of the best kid-friendly snack recipes in it, that will help your kids learn to start helping in the kitchen.

Remember how I said I like to start on the weekends? Using this (FREE!) cookbook of kids snacks is the perfect way to do just that!

Grab your free download of 10 Snacks Your Kids Can Make here, and you can start teaching your kids to cook this weekend!

I love everything about this! Not only is my friend Katie empowering kids in the kitchen, but she's using whole foods and introducing families to healthier meal options they can all enjoy together.

If you are looking for more? Be sure to check out my Broccoli Nuggets Recipe below. This is one that the kids absolutely LOVE to help with. From measuring ingredients and scooping them into place, there are a lot of hands-on tasks kids can do, and it's even a recipe that will get a few extra veggies on their plate!

Teach Your Kids to Cook By Age - Broccoli Nuggets Recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Do your kids help out in the kitchen? I'd love to hear your best tips for teaching kids how to cook in the comments below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have you been wondering at what age your kids can start helping out in the kitchen? What is appropriate and what isn't for them to do? I have put together a list of age appropriate tasks for kids in the kitchen. This will help you teach your kid how to cook by age.

# data[].attributes.body
1. https://www.sitters.co.uk/blog/15-fun-cooking-activities-for-kids.aspx

2. https://www.mamasmiles.com/baking-kids-kitchen-pretend-play/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Teach Kids Science Through Baking

Jennifer Poole
June 1, 2017

You've probably heard of the old adage "Cooking is an art, while baking is a science." So what does that mean? Why is baking a science? For starters, baking relies on chemistry and it requires precision. Throw in a handful of

this or a pinch of that might work for cooking, but when it comes to baking, the outcome can change with just the slightest adjustment to a recipe.

If you are not precise when measuring baking powder, your cake could collapse; if you mix your batter using too many turns, you may end up with a hockey puck instead of a moist cupcake; and if you use butter that's a few degrees too warm in your pie crust, you could have a soggy crust.

When we bake, we rely on recipes to guide us through all the chemical reactions that take place while mixing or kneading, heating or baking, cooling or whipping. Baking involves all sorts of chemical reactions: protein coagulation, water evaporation, caramelization and browning, enzyme reactions, expanding gases, thickening starches and so on.

Take cakes, for example. Each ingredient has a job to do. The proteins in the flour bond and create gluten and this provides the cake's structure; baking powder and baking soda react with acidic and alkaline ingredients to release carbon dioxide, adding bubbles to the batter which helps the cake expand and have airiness; eggs bind all the ingredients together; butter and oil tenderize; sugar caramelizes, browns and tenderizes; milk and water provide moisture; and yogurt, juice, fruit sauces and other acidic ingredients help balance flavor, tenderize and add moisture, and they react with leaveners to help give rise.

Baking introduces your child to science in a fun and rewarding way, teaching them skills that will help them understand better how things work and the world around them.

Acidic and Alkaline Ingredients

The pH scale measures the degree of acidity and alkalinity of a substance on a scale from 0 to 14. The midpoint is seven and represents neutral; below seven is acidic and above seven is alkaline. Successful recipes have a balance of acidic and alkaline ingredients to achieve a neutral pH because this results in the best flavor and texture. Knowing the acidity or alkalinity of your ingredients and understanding how acidic and alkaline ingredients work together can help ensure your baked goods will turn out the way you intended. With practice, you will be able to develop your own recipes, which can be great if your child or another family member has allergies.

Baking soda, a chemical leavener, is alkaline and is used when there is an acidic ingredient in the recipe. Examples of acidic ingredients include applesauce, buttermilk, yogurt, honey, brown sugar, molasses, lemon juice, vinegar and regular cocoa powder (not Dutch-process or alkalized cocoa powder - which is neutral). When baking soda comes in contact with an acidic ingredient and is moistened, the alkali/acid combination creates carbon dioxide, and this helps the batter to rise.

If your chocolate cake recipe calls for buttermilk and you use regular milk, there wouldn't be a release of carbon dioxide to give it that fluffy texture that makes cake so special. The recipe likely calls for baking soda, which is alkaline, and it reacts with the acidic buttermilk to allow the cake to rise. In addition, the color of your cake and the taste won't be as appealing.

Adding the right amount is important too. If you were to add one-half teaspoon baking soda to your cookie dough when the recipe calls for one-quarter teaspoon, you might end up with over-browned, burnt-tasting cookies. And if you don't add enough, you might end up with something more like a muffin than a cookie. Too much baking soda can also create soapy off-notes, and too little will allow acidic flavors to come through too strong.

Baking powder, on the other hand, has both alkaline and acidic ingredients in it and is slightly acidic - almost neutral on the pH scale. It reacts in two phases - when moistened and when heated - and the gas won't be released until baked. You will usually see baking powder in a recipe that has an alkaline ingredient in it, such as milk, but it can be found in other carefully crafted recipes as well.

Here's how these leaveners work: the baking powder and baking soda start acting immediately when you put your cake batter in the oven. They expand the air bubbles previously beaten or mixed into the batter and held by the flour's gluten strands. At the end of baking, the flour's starches firmly set around the expanded air bubbles and the batter conforms to the shape of the pan and browns. When you cut your cake after baking, you should see tiny, evenly spaced holes or air pockets.

If the holes are big and uneven, you possibly added too much baking powder or baking soda, which can cause the gluten strands to weaken and not have the ability to hold in the excess carbon dioxide (air bubbles) before the cake's flour starches have set, thus spilling over. On the other hand, if you add too little baking powder the cake's structure may set too soon, it won't be able to rise - resulting in a hockey puck cake.

Yeast, another leavener, consumes available sugars and creates carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Whipped egg whites also act as a leavener when folded into batter.

Sugar, Salt, Eggs and Flour

Sugar has many functions in baking. It caramelizes foods when it breaks down from heat. It's also responsible for browning foods when it binds with amino acids - a process known as Maillard reaction. It also draws in moisture from the surrounding air, which helps slow the cake from hardening. When a cake begins to go stale, the starch starts to crystallize. Sugar will draw in moisture and prevent the starch molecules from forming and crystallizing.

Salt does more than just round out flavor. It draws water out of foods and in baking, it regulates fermentation. Yeast needs water to perform its function. Salt hinders the yeast and thereby slows the leavening process. It also helps strengthen the dough; without salt, the dough would be a sticky mess. The negative ions in the salt balance out the positive charge in the gluten. Too many positive charges push the gluten apart.

Eggs are filled with protein. When heated, their proteins unravel and realign to form a solid out of a liquid, giving structure to a baked good.

Flour has two types of protein - glutenin and gliadin. When water is added to flour, the proteins come together to form a new protein called gluten. When heated, the starch portion of the flour gels with the help of sugar and creates a web-like structure that traps water and provides moisture. The carbon dioxide from the leavener expands the cake and the gluten holds the bubbles in place.

It's important to know the protein content of flour. For example, you don't want to use a high-protein flour when making cookies. High-protein flour has more gluten than all-purpose flour and is better suited for bread as it gives strength and structure. Cookies are crumbly, chewy and crunchy. They need a lower protein flour.

There is a lot more science in baking than what we covered here - emulsification, friction, air pressure and heat are just a few things you'll learn if you bake frequently. If you know your ingredients and how they behave, you'll have a good chance at success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teach Kids Science Through Baking | Washington Parent

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You've probably heard of the old adage "Cooking is an art, while baking is a science." So what does that mean? Why is baking a science? For starters, baking relies on chemistry and it requires precision.

# data[].attributes.body
1. How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work?
I feel pretty good about this piece of work. One of the main things that I particularly like about the project is the little fruit drawings that I made. One thing that I dislike about my project is the spacing in my letters because I did not realize my measurements were off until I had finished my letters.

2. What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?
Something that I would change is how much i procrastinated i would make sure that I finished that project as soon as possible instead of waiting.

3. What did you learn about yourself as you worked on this piece?
One thing that I learned about myself as i worked on my project is that I procrastinate a lot.