Baking with preschoolers is a joyful and creative process. Listening to their questions and conversations truly indicate the learning taking place! When baking with preschoolers we focus on the benefits of the process more than the outcome.
When baking Wee Friends are:
- practicing math skills such as counting, one-to-one correspondence and measurement
- seeing science in action
- being creative—choosing what flavors, spices, fruit, etc. to add to recipes
- listening—keeping track of what ingredient comes next, how much of an ingredient to add
- practicing literacy skills—reading the recipe, learning new vocabulary, i.e. “What is whole wheat flour?”
- having an opportunity for physical development—stirring, mixing, pouring and squeezing all help develop small muscle control and eye-hand coordination
Not only are we promoting healthy food choices, but we are also providing a confidence-building activity. Children feel empowered when they help create something from scratch that they can eat!
Today we decided to make homemade whole wheat fruit muffins. Here’s the process we went through. Gather the necessary ingredients:
Crack eggs and add some milk:
Add some melted butter and whisk all the wet ingredients together:
Start measuring and pouring the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, a little sugar, baking powder and salt:
Stir it all together!
Add some blueberries and blackberries and mix everything up:
Then into the baking cups the batter goes:
The result? Delicious and healthy muffins.
Wee Frienders can be proud to say, “We made that!”
Have a great afternoon. –Jessica
Wee Sprouts: Grape tomatoes. Breakfast: Kix and fresh apples. Lunch: Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, cucumbers and oranges. Snack: Homemade whole wheat fruit muffins and mozzarella cheese sticks.
