The Science and Bonding of Baking With Kids
Homemade Apple Pie
Do you remember the first time you baked with mom or dad? Do you remember the excitement the first time they let you stir the batter, or the moment you took a bite out of a cookie you formed with your own two little hands? Baking is magical to kids. There’s something special about mixing together simple ingredients and creating something new and delicious. Baking is about more than food. It’s about bonding and creating memories that last a lifetime.
As you know, our theme this week was “apples.” What better way to top off the week than to bake an apple pie together? The kids were so excited about this project and have been talking about it anxiously all week. The big day arrived and, after a few hours of school time, we washed little hands, pulled up some stools, and got out the ingredients. They followed directions well today and there were few messes (hooray!). Derek loved being able to help pour the apple mix into the crust. Alex crimped the crust to perfection and spread the mix while Ethan helped me cut an apple shape into the top crust. The end result was great. The kids were so proud to show off their hard work to daddy this evening and we all enjoyed fresh, homemade apple pie after dinner.
What does baking have to do with learning? A lot, really. Measuring for recipes teaches kids real world math. There isn’t a better way to make fractions relevant than measuring ingredients, at least that I know of. Alex has learned all about fractions in math, and seeing “1/4″ and “1/2″ with her own eyes makes these concepts seem more concrete.
Baking also helps kids practice their organizational skills and following directions. They followed directions when they gathered the proper ingredients and organized them on the counter. They followed directions and practiced patience as we read the recipe and followed one step at a time. Listening skills and team work were also engaged. Precision is important in baking and there aren’t many other places in life where young kids practice precision. For Alex, we also practiced reading comprehension and introduced new vocabulary. There are many words in recipes that we don’t see on a daily basis, like “sift, “egg white,” “baking flour,” etc.
Baking also elicits scientific curiosity. Why exactly do certain ingredients combine to create something great while others do not? What makes biscuits and cake rise? How does heat affect ingredients and cause things to bake?
Kids love baking! They love having jobs and creating things with their own two hands. Kids as young as two can help out by stirring and decorating things with sprinkles. It’s a great time for them to build self-confidence, practice fine motor skills, and learn about math and science. As a parent, I had to learn to let go a bit and realize that things wouldn’t get done exactly how I’d do them myself and accept that messes would be made. This took practice. Today, baking is about learning and bonding. My kids ask to “help” nearly every meal and I try to involve at least one child in the kitchen each time. This can be hard in today’s fast-paced world. Make time for it. Our ancestors bonded over baking and cooking together. These moments may sometimes be frustrating and may often involve a counter and floor sprinkled with flour, but they are the moments memories are made of. There really isn’t a much better way to end a week than with some warm apple pie and a table surrounded by a happy family.
Alex proudly pours in and evens the apple mix
The pie is ready to go in the oven!
Apple Painting Art: Watch Out For Splashing Paint!
Alex and Derek Show Off Their Apple Painting Masterpieces
What is one fun and messy way to enjoy Autumn’s abundance? Cut an apple in half and hand it to a three-year old, along with some poster paper and lots of finger paint. Step back and watch your little Picasso at work. Just watch out for splashing paint!
This project was a ton of fun for my preschooler. He loved mixing up his colors, whacking his apples hard on the paper so that paint would haphazardly spray into the air, and creating lots of interesting shapes. By the time he was done, he had paint everywhere. His hands we covered, the apples were unrecognizable, and there was even paint on his forehead and neck. How it got there beats me. It may have had something to do with flying paint particles.
My kindergartener proclaimed the project “Too Messy” and refused to participate, but my first-grader begged to make her own apple poster. I made her finish her phonics first and we salvaged Derek’s apples by running them under water in the kitchen sink. They were … almost… as good as new.
If you’re looking for a fun fall project for little hands, this one is sure to keep your kids busy!
Apple Science! Learning Doesn’t Get Much Tastier Than This.
- Alex Anxiously Awaits Science Time
Continuing with this week’s apple theme, today’s science lesson included 5 different types of apples, applesauce, incredibly sour apple cider from the commissary (ick!), and a bunch of excited little scientists. Learning about science doesn’t get much tastier than this!
We started our lesson with a discussion about the senses. What are they and how do they affect our lives? The kids had all sorts of ideas and input. Well, the bigger kids anyway. Derek kept sneaking apple slices from the platters and cramming them into his mouth. It’s the idea that counts, right?
I sliced up ginger gold, red delicious, granny smith, fuji, and gala apples (the wide variety offered at our base commissary ) and set them out on labeled plates. I also poured everyone some apple cider and got baby spoons out for the applesauce. We made a chart labeling our apples. There were boxes for color, smell, texture, and taste.
We started with Ginger Gold apples. The kids couldn’t figure out why they were called “gold” when the skin was actually green but did like the slightly sweet, slightly tart taste. Alex decided this is her new favorite. We continued with our experiment one apple variety at a time. The Granny Smith apples got a big reaction of scrunched up faces and “Eeeeeew!” from Alex and Derek. Of course, Ethan thought they were delicious. He and the other kids are really polar opposites in all ways. The apple cider was a bit of a shocker. I thought it would be great and Alex noted that it smelled like apple pie. However, it was incredibly sour! Eeeew! Ethan liked it. I guess he’ll be drinking apple cider for a while.
This experiment was fun because it engaged the kids and gave us context to discuss different descriptive words. The kids wanted to describe everything as “good” or “bad.” We took it to a new level for them, learning to describe things as “sweet,” “sour,” “smooth,” “tart,” etc. Perhaps the most interesting description came when Alex tasted the Gala apples and described them as “Earthy grass.” I don’t think that would be a very good advertising campaign. 
We were also able to practice comparing and contrasting. We compared the colors and tastes of the apples, discussing which ones we liked most and why. The kids said that Fuji apples are sweet, but less sweet than Red Delicious. They also decided that the cider was more sour and “more grosser” than the Granny Smith apples.
Another bonus was that they got their fruit servings for the day! 
How do you make science interesting and engaging for your kids or students?
Bella loved joining in our science fun
This is our apple chart for recording our observations
Ethan participated today too
Derek was an apple swiper
Ten Apples Up On Top! This Week’s Pre-School Theme: Apples!
Derek is Excited For This Week's Theme!
Our pre-school/ kindergarten theme this week is apples. Don’t apples make you think of Fall? Crisp Red Delicious apples fresh from Washington, cool air, and sweaters put me in the Autumn mood. We won’t be wearing sweaters any time soon in Florida, but we will be learning a lot about different types of apples, apple trees, plant growth, harvest, and more.
A fun and challenging part about teaching multiple grade levels is incorporating different ability-levels into a common theme that everyone can enjoy. Here are our goals for today:
Tuesday
THEME: Apples
Circle Discussion: Apple Trees
-Types of apples (red, yellow, green) (Red Delicious, Fuji, McIntosh, Cameo, Rome Beauty, etc)
-Apples have been around since ancient times
-Apple trees grow in orchards and ripen in the fall; Apple trees may live more than 100 years
-Read about harvest and plant growth from “What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know “
-An apple tree may live for more than one hundred years, but a mature tree revisits the same seasonal cycle year after year. In summer tiny buds appear on the branches. The buds develop and grow a protective covering in the fall. During the winter the buds are dormant, protected from the cold by a fuzzy coat. In the spring buds explode into green leaves and little flower buds appear. Insects pollinate the apples flowers, which give way to developing apples. Every apple contains seeds that can begin the process again. Use the poster to reinforce these concepts (From Scholastic website).
Literacy Activities: Read “10 Apples Up On Top,” Tracing A’s for Derek, A-word Word Search for Ethan. The Letter of the week is A.
Songs and Fingerplays: Apple Theme
All Around The Apple Tree
Sung to: “Mulberry Bush”
Here we go round the apple tree, the apple tree, the apple tree
Here we go around the apple tree
On a frosty morning.
This is the way we climb the ladder
-pick the apples
-wash the apples
-peel the apples
-cook the apples
Ten Red Apples
(Both hands high) Ten red apples grow on a tree
(Dangle one hand and then the other) Five for you and five for me.
(Shake body) Let us shake the tree just so
(Hands fall) And ten red apples will fall below
(Count ea. finger) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Apple Poem
Apples big,
Apples small.
Guess what?
I like them all.
Art: Color Apple Tree Pictures
Number Sense: Workbooks and IXL.com
Large Motor Skills: “Apple Picking” and “Apple Balancing Fun”
For apple picking, see dramatic play.
Apple Balancing Fun: Balance beanbags on head to simulate apple balancing from book “Ten Apples Up On Top.” This can be done in circle time.
Fine Motor Development: Writing/ Tracing- See art and literacy sections
Dramatic Play: Pretend Farm
Pretend Apple Picking:
Wake Up! We’re going apple picking today! (Yawn, stretch, pretend to hope out of bed)
Let’s drive to the farm. (Pretend to steer car).
Get your basket. (Pretend to get basket).
Wow! Look at all the apples! Let’s pick some! (Pick apples off tree)
Put them in your basket. (Bend down, place in basket)
These apples are really high! Let’s climb! (Pretend to climb tree)
Wow! Our basket is really full! (Pretend to lift heavy basket)
Let’s pay for our apples. (Pretend to give money).
Let’s drive home, that was fun! (Pretend to steer car).
Science and Discovery: Learn About Apple Trees and Farms (circle time)
As you can see, many of these important developmental goals overlap. We should have a really fun day ahead of us. Later this week, we look forward to some apple tasting experiments and baking an apple pie. This week will be a blast!
What are some of your favorite Fall learning activities?
