Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Learning about the Alphabet: B is for Baking

Learning about the Alphabet: B is for Baking; course logo from SchoolhouseTeachers.com and A Mom's Quest to Teach Logo; background photo of cookies

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toddler baking cookies
Baking shortbread cookies

Over the course of twenty-six posts, I will introduce my own simple lessons for the letters of the alphabet. I will provide enough ideas and suggestions for a week's worth of activities.

For the letter B we focused on baking.

Coloring Pages

Super Coloring's Baker Coloring Page 
First-School Preschool Activities and Craft's Baker Coloring Page 
DLTK's Coloring Pages' Chef Coloring Pages


Baking Projects

Letter B as a Baker Craft
B is for Baker craft

SchoolhouseTeachers.com's ABC: What Will I Be offers a great lesson on B is for Baker.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com ABC: What Will I Be? Course logo


Baking Cookies

Getting into the kitchen and baking cookies with your preschooler is a wonderful way to share family time and incorporate education into your day. Your child can help gather ingredients, read the recipe, measure ingredients, and prepare the cookies for the oven.


Learning About the Alphabet: B is for Baking; mixing ingredients; SchoolhouseTeachers.com course logoSafety first! Please keep in mind that the oven is very hot and your child should be supervised at all times near an oven. Do NOT allow them to handle items going in and out of the oven. Use your due diligence to prevent injuries. Allow trays and cookies to cool after baking before allowing children to touch them again.

I have to admit that I love using the pre-measured cookie mixes like those sold by Betty Crocker.  They make it very easy when you need to make cookies quickly for an event. We have used the following mixes with good results: Sugar Cookie Mix, Salted Caramel (which is a limited edition mix), Rainbow Chocolate Candy, and the Pumpkin Spice (which is also a limited edition mix).


The 36th Avenue's Christmas Cookies - Funfetti Cookies 
This recipe calls for red and green sprinkles and M&M's but you can use other colors for the rest of the year, too.

Books

There are so many books out there teaching how to bake or cook with children. Visit the library or use one of the links below to learn about some of the books available.


Featured Shapes - Circle and Sphere

What better shapes are there than circles and spheres when you are taking about baking? So many cookie recipes ask you to roll your cookies into balls (or spheres) and then press flat (creating a circle shape).

One great way to incorporate a painting activity is with circles. Gather materials around your house that have a circular shape that could act as a stamp. For example, plastic cup, plastic lid, empty and clean yogurt container. Let your child use them as stamps with paint and a large sheet of paper.

Activities

Imagination Time: Play food

While talking about baking, allow your children to cook you a pretend dinner. In our household, we love the products from Learning Resources. They have such a variety of kits from fruit salads to healthy dinner baskets. They even have a baking set!
 

 

Visit a bakery

child watching older brother pick out rolls for dinner
Watching older brother
pick out rolls for dinner
rolls at bakery
Rolls at our local bakery
Take the time to visit a bakery with your children. We are fortunate enough that we have bakeries that specialize in sweets and bread within driving distance of our home.


Clay Play

Use old cookie cutters and clay to let your children pretend to bake cookies. (Remind them not to put the clay in their mouths!)


Other 'B' Topics

Bees
I Heart Crafty Things' 15 Adorable Bee Crafts for Kids 
Included in this roundup of crafts are those that incorporate a variety of materials including paper bags, paper plates, paint, glue, craft sticks, and tissue paper among other items.

Ms. Barbara's Bees: A Preschool Study 
This includes many lessons to incorporate the study of bees into your preschool or homeschool including a really cool beehive created with egg cartons.

Butterflies

butterfly children's book

Fireflies + Mudpies' Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft 
This is a great craft for a warm day outside. We used to make similar butterfly crafts when I taught workshops at the zoo. Kids love seeing the marker colors spread and combine when spraying water on the filter.

Fun Learning for Kids' Butterfly Collage 
I always love the idea of giving kids materials and letting them create their own art project. Here is one you can do with butterflies as the base.

Parenting Chaos' b is for Butterfly Letter of the Week Craft 
This offers the lowercase letter b for the butterfly craft.

Mommies Reviews' Homeschooling Craft B is for Butterfly
Cute art craft using pasta to create a butterfly picture.

Birds - Bird Feeder

There are lots of interesting bird crafts that could accompany the letter B. And you can also make a bird feeder to hang outside allowing for some nature watching time. Please visit my Crafts - Animals Pinterest Board for more bird craft ideas.

The Resourceful Mama's Peanut Butter Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder 
We used to make these when I taught at the zoo. They were an easy way to prepare a bird feeder with just a few supplies.

Kitchen Counter Chronicles' Cookie Cutter Bird Feeders
These bird feeders use gelatin as the 'sticking' agent instead of peanut butter. Great if you (or a loved one) have a food allergy. They also allow for creativity and experimentation, if you and your children want to try different shapes than just the heart suggested.

Resources

First-School Preschool Activities and Craft's Alphabet Letter B Baker Theme
MPM School Supplies B is for Literacy Center Craftivity 
Sight and Sound Reading's Letter B Crafts 


8 comments:

  1. Looks like a lot of fun! We love baking.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. My son keeps begging me to make more cookies. Maybe just to eat them. :)

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  2. You have some excellent ideas here for teaching the letter b

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  3. awwww, how I love this! Baking with my children and grandchildren is one of my very favorite things - and so educational, too!

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    Replies
    1. I was hesitant to try with my 4 yr old because of the mess but he loved making thumbprint cookies at Christmas.

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  4. I love the book "Baker, Baker, Cookie Maker" and it would be a great story to add to this focus of B is for baking. Great collection of ideas.

    ReplyDelete