As we discussed in our last homeschooling tip, incorporating life skills into our schooling is important and beneficial to our students. Most homeschooling families spend a lot of time at home and eat a lot of family meals. Therefore it is important to remember that cooking is school too.
What can a child learn from cooking?
Cooking is school too. They learn so much from cooking and develop a very important life skill. Whether you have boys or girls is irrelevant – both need to know how to cook. Even if they go straight from your house to their spouse’s home, having at least a basic knowledge of cooking is a good, solid life skill to have.
So what do children learn from cooking? Well, in addition to learning responsibility, building some good family time, and developing an important life skill, there are basic mathematics and other important skill development involved. Such skills that are developed, and perfected, by cooking include:
- Measuring
- Fractions
- Following direction
- Conversion
- Sorting
As your child gets older, after most of the math skills are already perfected, cooking still keeps them learning. You can work with your child on doubling recipes, substitutions, and understand what freezes and what doesn’t. If you like freezer cooking, getting your children involved can help you get through the cooking process as well as teaching them about meal planning and being frugal.
How to get your child cooking?
Getting your child cooking usually doesn’t take too much effort. Most kids love to try cooking. Get them a cookbook and turn them loose to make an easy menu item. You can start with salad or cookies. Teach them how to properly use a knife and cutting board. Teach them how to read a recipe and follow it. Give them some freedom to determine what they want to make. They love to make a decision and then follow through.
As your child gets older, you can make them responsible for a meal once a week or lunches for their siblings. These are great ways to get started with cooking. You could also have them choose one meal each week and have them make a grocery list of what they need. Then, on that night, they can be in the kitchen with you preparing. Give them the credit for the great meal at the dinner table – these accolades can go a long way.
Older children can be put in charge of the grocery shopping, meal planning and even preparation on specific days. This can give you a break and give them a chance to really use this important life skill. And don’t underestimate your boys – they can be GREAT cooks if you let them.
Do you incorporate cooking into your school? How do you do it?
You are right that children can learn many things through cooking–even science. How about freezing and boiling points, or why does bread have holes in it?
How did fossils get trapped in rocks? Try jello and candy “bones” and use tooth picks to unearth your dinosaurs of long ago. Make a graph of the number of different kinds of bones they found.
I cooked with my students on Fridays and it was one of their favorite activities.
Truthfully you can teach almost anything with a little imagination and a cooking activity.