by Alix Tonsgard
It is sometimes said that, “Cooking is science (or math) for hungry people!” Cooking with your kids is fun AND educational!
Think about all the science and math your children are observing and using when cooking. There’s the math of measuring out the ingredients. For an extra challenge, you can double the recipe or divide it in half. Look at the way a set of measuring cups or spoons nests together. Just getting young children to realize the ¼ and ½ are part of a whole (1) is a major mathematical concept that they will use in school when they learn about fractions.
Cooking and baking are all based on science. When heated, liquids can become solids (scrambled eggs) and solids can become liquids (melted butter). Your children are witnessing changing states of matter! Observe what happens to yeast when added to warm water and a little sugar – Hello fermentation! Then to watch the dough rise and get baked into bread is just short of magical.
In addition to the science and math, children benefit by being in the kitchen in other ways. They love to learn to use the tools of the kitchen – wooden spoons, egg beaters, whisks, and at the proper age, knives. Being able to help an adult chop, mix, and stir gives children great confidence. Yes – they make a bigger mess than you probably would. But learning how to clean that up is just another life skill. There’s also plenty of evidence indicating that children are more willing to eat a dish that they’ve helped create.
Being in the kitchen with your kids builds memories. Whether you’re teaching them to cook something from your childhood, or starting your own list of family favorites, the memories being created and the stories being told will last forever.
So get in the kitchen and make a mess! You and your children will not regret it.
Alix Tonsgard is an early learning specialist at the DuPage Children’s Museum.
