Baking is more than just pastries, FYI. Kids cook with me from the time they can consistently follow simple directions (ie around 2).

2-3yo:
They count 1-1. Sometimes that means pressing the same number of chocolate chips into each cookie (it takes FOREVER, but it works), sometimes it means counting the number of potatoes, onions and carrots I need.

We work on colors and basic shapes.

They’re learning safety rules for the kitchen. Walking, no running. Close the refrigerator after you get something out. Make sure things are completely on the counter. After you finish with a knife, the blade is turned away from people and the knife is put on the far edge of the cutting board. Don’t reach for the oven or stove until an adult tells you if it’s hot. We wash our hands before, after and sometimes during cooking.

They working on fine motor skills. Scooping, mixing, cutting soft food with a butter knife. They knead bread after trying with homemade or peanut butter play dough.

4-5:
They start adding and subtracting word problems: “I need enough baby carrots for each child to have 5 and each adult to have 10. Please put them on the cookie sheet.” I introduce them to the idea of scaling recipes to get a desired amount of food. They’re working on recognizing the difference between how things are measured (liquid measuring cups, shortening/butter using water displacement, measuring cups or spoons for some dry ingredients and a food scale for others). They learn how big teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts and gallons are and know how to order the sizes without knowing the conversion table. They learn that ounces are smaller than pounds, again without needing a conversion table. They accustomed to numbers up to 450 in an abstract way. They learn a few basic temperatures in Fahrenheit (the freezer is -10-0, the fridge is around 35-40, the oven is roughly 80 when they turn it on, and it takes a while to preheat to anywhere between 300 and 450). They learn to view the product as a whole and the amount they’re allowed to eat as a fraction: “You may have one quarter of this recipe now, but the rest will wait for later/tomorrow.” (This is fairly common when I halve or quarter recipes. They learn to view their 1-2 treats as the fraction of the whole by dividing the batch into equal groups.) They also work on repeating and growing patterns (potato, carrot, onion variations are a favorite). 2D are continued, 3D shapes are introduced. We do rite counting practice while doing other things, working on multitasking skills combined with rote memorization.

They’re also working on science/health. Eggs and milk will allow fats and water to mix. Some things change very little visually (roasting carrots), while other things are not recognizable (scrambled eggs). Some things can be separated (chopped apples and walnuts), others can’t (batter). We discuss solids, liquids, gases and phase changes. Different temperatures result in different times required to be completely cooked, and dryness is effected. They learn about the differences between meat/fish, fruit, vegetable, dairy and starch, appropriate portion size, and that there are little things called vitamins and minerals in different foods, which is why we eat an assortment. We talk about hunger cues, satiety and eating when you’re not hungry. We also discuss what happens to the body when you don’t eat enough of a variety of foods, don’t eat enough food in general or overeat, both short term and long term. We talk about food in terms of moderation, but also as fuel for the body, so some people need to change what they eat when they change what they do.

Phonics make a huge splash in the kitchen. We sound out words orally, then check the letters on the label. We find rhymes for various ingredients and tools. We play word games while doing other things.

Fine motor skills continue to improve with more scooping and stirring. I introduce the difference between folding and mixing. They move on to cutting soft food with a paring knife. I introduce butting shortening or butter into flour. They’re learning to clean up as they go, including washing dishes by hand.

Safety skills progress. What is cross contamination, and how do we avoid it? When should you wash your hands? How do you hand a knife to someone else? How do you carry scissors and knives safely? How (and why) do you tell someone in a kitchen that you are passing them or standing behind them? Why is temperature important for storage and cooking (from a safety perspective)? How do we handle hot pans and hot food safely? What do you do if you want to help, but you think something might be too heavy or too hot?

This is getting long. I’m only listing a few going forward, and not separating into skill group.

1st/2nd: introduction to scaling recipes using addition/subtraction of integers and fractions, more temperatures, introduction to budgeting, science vocabulary (physical/chemical change, emulsifier, mixture/solution, etc), how phase changes during cooking/baking effects the product (what happens if you stir ice chunks into bread dough just before baking), chemical changes and ingredient interactions while cooking (yeast feeding on carbohydrates), carbohydrates/protein/fat as building blocks for food, reading labels, more food safety, what is clean for dishes and surfaces, etc

3rd/4th: scaling recipes on their own using multiplication/division of fractions and conversion between units (for a challenge, I pull up recipes in metric and they convert to stars before scaling), writing a grocery list, meal planning, looking for sales and coupons, what the minerals and vitamins do and which foods are the best sources, introduction to nutrition labels, etc

By 5th/6th, I’m supervising in case there’s an accident or younger child present. They’re on their own unless they need me to move a hot, heavy pan to the sink.

By 7th? I’m not even in the kitchen unless they want me there. They have nights that they are responsible for planning, preparing and serving the meal.

Do I think you can teach a full curriculum only using cooking? No, not even if you limit it to just math.

Anonymous wrote:I say that because I like cookies.

Why you no like cookies, OP?

Learning is made into play/games in America. School starts very early compared to many other countries. Why not let kids play a little longer- until age 8 almost and then start with serious schooling? That said, my teacher did make to explain fractions but I learned nothing. I was so starving back in the old countries that all I saw was a cake for us 10 am.
We had a peace corps teacher from US. She mad everything a game and it didn't go over well with high schooler. We were ready to memorize the 100+ words a day and instead, she took us outside to play baseball.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP gets all this. What’s silly is advice for supporting home learning that starts and ends with “baking is a great way to teach math.”

Hahaha, this makes me laugh but its so true. Honestly eating pizza is a better way to teach fractions, but that doesn't have the same pinterest-y feel. If anything I would like mixology would be better because you can see parts of a whole that are the same (all liquid) vs. dry and wet ingredients, some solids, etc. Maybe we should get on that

ITA. So many times have I seen this "baking" advice given when a parent asks for advice about supporting math -- no matter the specifics of the question. It's like people don't think about the question, they just throw out this same old trope every time.

It's simple, learning is not a one size fits all model. Some people learn by doing and by putting math into real world scenarios it helps kids (and adults) make the connection that two 1/4 cups is the same as one 1/2 cup, etc. If that does not work for you or your kids it's OK. Find a learning method that works and you like.

Anonymous wrote:"You can bake a cake to teach fractions" like if fractions is all math is about? Also, are people supposed to bake every single day? Holly molly, you better get your flour at costco if you are planning on teaching fractions only by baking.

Just a rant.... move on.

Then don't bake. It is just another tool in the toolbox to help kids understand the concept of math in a concrete way.

Nobody is forcing you to bake lol

Anonymous wrote:I think OP gets all this. What’s silly is advice for supporting home learning that starts and ends with “baking is a great way to teach math.”

Hahaha, this makes me laugh but its so true. Honestly eating pizza is a better way to teach fractions, but that doesn't have the same pinterest-y feel. If anything I would like mixology would be better because you can see parts of a whole that are the same (all liquid) vs. dry and wet ingredients, some solids, etc. Maybe we should get on that

I do some baking with my kid, and only let them have the 1/4 cup scoop. Very good way to teach fractions. I don't really do that to teach math - I just hate dirtying every utensil in my kitchen when one will do.

It's just an example of working it into real life. There are other ways of doing it but for those who aren't sure how to teach academic skills through life skills it's an easy one. Once you get used to that, you can lean how to ask math questions about other activities.

hmm? who ever said baking would allow you to teach the sum total of all math?

it's a great way to teach some math concepts, particularly fractions and adding/subtracting, but of course it doesn't involve every single mathematical concept.

calm down, OP, and eat a cookie. you'll feel better.

You can do it with cooking too! Measuring ingredients, I normally don’t do for cooking but I have my kids do it (spices etc).

I think it’s good with math and also with learning a skill (cooking/baking) AND trying different foods and cuisine- my kids are much more likely to eat food they made. They are little still so it is helpful.

I think it’s just that everyone is burnt out with no school/childcare and working and we need to cook anyway. Not much more than that.

Anonymous wrote:I helped my 10 year old make a double batch of blueberry muffins the other day and found that it was a good review of some of the things they covered in 4th grade. With a little bit of chemistry thrown in, I guess. I didn’t intend it to be a lesson but took advantage of a learning opportunity when I saw it.

This.
My children love to cook, so I usually use it as a way to reinforce fractions.

I say that because I like cookies.

Why you no like cookies, OP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought that was mostly for preschoolers? My 3 year old gets some good counting reinforcement and one-to-one correspondence helping me make sure I get enough cups of flour in dough and stuff.

To get into more advanced arithmetic, you really have to be doing stuff like 01:26 recommended. I only do that when I'm doing something weird like 2/3rd-ing a recipe, which is not a task I usually attempt with 3 DC "helping."

That’s because he is 3. When he is 10 and learning fractions you will happily doubling or halving recipes and realizing it is somewhat useful. Not in place of other things, but as an occasional visual refresher of what 1/2 of a 1/3 looks like.

I have older kids also (that's why I'm here). Maybe it's just because I also have a 3 year old that I don't want to be asking the oldest kid, who definitely knows her fractions, to turn 2/3 of 1/4 cup into tablespoons on the fly.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a good activity, among many others, for reinforcing math skills. My 4th grader sailed through fractions because he’s been cooking and baking for years with me. An added bonus is teaching life skills. That same 4th grader is perfectly comfortable cooking dinner or baking a cake on his own.

I meant to add, it’s not meant to be a one off lesson I think, but something that if you do regularly will make them very comfortable with fractions. We double or triple recipes fairly often so there’s a lot of fraction work.