Get Kids Baking – Guest Post by Author Alice Kuipers – Enter To Win

As the mom of four kids, I’m always trying to think of fun things to do with them. Baking

together is something I’ve learned over the years to make fun and (nearly) stress free. And at the

end, we have a snack ready for us all. My children are all under the age of nine, so these hard

won tips to make baking actually successful are, I hope, helpful for you as you embark on your

next baking adventure.

1: Don’t stress.

I know, easier said than done. But it’s worth starting out with simple baking plans and low

expectations for the end result. Sometimes, we make the most fantastic and delicious baked

goods. Sometimes we make mediocre little rock/bun/almost edibles. The kids eat them just the

same.

2: It’s messy—plan to clean up together after, not during.

This goes back to the first tip. There is going to be flour on the floor. They are going to knock

over the bowl half way through. They are going to stick their fingers in and it will drive you

crazy. If you clean up while baking, then the actual activity is just going to feel like work, work,

work.

For clean up, we set ourselves a play list of four songs (one song per kid: my youngest

likes It’s Raining Tacos…) and during the songs, we sort the mess in the kitchen (and the living

room too if I’m lucky!)

3: Let the kids do stuff.

Yup. Messy. Eggs get on the floor sometimes. But all my kids (even the two year old) can crack

an egg into a bowl now. Puffs of flour fill the air. But all of them can tip a cup of flour into the

mix and stir. Figure out with your kids what they can handle—turning on the oven is okay for all

of mine, but my little two can’t help put the muffins in, for example. Sharp knives need lots of

attention, etc, you know what your kids can manage, so try not to do it all yourself.

4: Incorporate math/language arts/art

I ask math questions as we bake (so how many cups is that in total?), I get the kids to read the

recipes out loud to me, I ask them to draw pictures of the final result while we wait for them to

cook. It turns out it’s fun to use what they’re learning at school in practical ways like this.

5: Treat Yourself

Bake something that you want to eat at the end of it! That cup of tea and a muffin is exactly

what you deserve after attempting baking with kids. Despite these tips hopefully making it

easier for you, it’s still a bit of a mission to deal with kids in the kitchen – so relax and enjoy once

everything is made (and cleaned up?) I’d love to see any photos of your final results – tag me

on Instagram @alicekuiperswritingprompts

 

Thanks to Alice Kuipers For Guest Posting! We would like to introduce you to her wonderful character POLLY DIAMOND!

 

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Want to see more POLLY DIAMOND?

We have a copy of Alice Kuipers latest book

POLLY DIAMOND AND THE MAGIC BOOK to giveaway to a lucky reader!

 

Enter To Win 

Enter the rafflecopter contest below (it may take a minute to load) and tell us what your family likes to bake together in the comments at the bottom. It may just win you a copy of the book!

 

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