As an elementary school teacher, writing is one of the most challenging things for kids to do. I don't mean "handwriting," but actual creative writing. Believe it or not, this can start once kids can hold a pencil in their hands. Today Liam worked on making a shopping list. He was very proud of his writing and could tell me everything that was on his list.
After reading a Max and Ruby book about making a cake and going to the grocery store with a list, Liam decided he wanted to make his own cake.
I convinced him cookies were the way to go, and this gave us our day's activity.
After reading a Max and Ruby book about making a cake and going to the grocery store with a list, Liam decided he wanted to make his own cake.
I convinced him cookies were the way to go, and this gave us our day's activity.
Liam picked out his recipe from a cookie cookbook I have been saving for this very thing. Of course he wanted the ones with the "special treats" aka M&Ms.
Together we read through the recipe and Liam made a list of the things we needed to pick up at the store. As he was making his list, I made my own list so that he could see how a list was made.
Together we read through the recipe and Liam made a list of the things we needed to pick up at the store. As he was making his list, I made my own list so that he could see how a list was made.
Here is Liam's shopping list.
I saved Liam's shopping for the very end, to keep him occupied while I took care of what I needed to buy. Here he is finding what he needed for his cookies.
(This is how I bribe my child to behave in Target when we have a l..o..n..g shopping trip to do! What a good mommy I am!)
It is after nap time and we *finally* get to make our cookies.
I saved Liam's shopping for the very end, to keep him occupied while I took care of what I needed to buy. Here he is finding what he needed for his cookies.
(This is how I bribe my child to behave in Target when we have a l..o..n..g shopping trip to do! What a good mommy I am!)
It is after nap time and we *finally* get to make our cookies.
Comments
By letting him choose the activity and follow through with it from start to finish, you teach him a number of things-- the least of which is putting into practice his creative ideas. By choosing a cooking project and following steps he also gets to start using math and science-- so exciting.
I let Cora help me cook and bake pretty often and she really loves it. She wanted to make muffins one day after the Max and Ruby episode about Ruby losing her tooth. So, we made banana muffins. She did most of the work and was very proud of her results.