I absolutely ♥️ baking
with my Little Chef Sammy!
As an unschooler, life lessons come naturally through Sammy’s self directed interests. So counting, measuring, sequencing, experimenting, pouring, mixing, language, vocabulary, self esteem, etc. were all a part of this yummy, fun, and exciting hands-on baking experience.
We decided to bake Valentine’s ♥️ Day chocolate cupcakes 
with strawberry 
icing and sprinkles. And our whole family devoured them in three whole days! Confession here… at times, we helped ourselves to 2 cupcakes at once!
It was also fun baking the cupcakes in Valentine’s Day cupcake muffin liners and then placing them on colorful and jolly heart shaped plates. All were purchased at a reasonable cost at Michael’s.
I remember being a student teacher at Bank Street School for Children in Manhattan, New York. I was learning how to be a teacher and spent a semester in the 7/8’s classroom and a semester in the 9/10’s classroom in the role of student teacher. Classes were multi-age at this private school on Manhattan’s upper west side and I soaked up as much as I could that year in theory and practice. I was a graduate student attending Bank Street College of Education and studying to earn a Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. The educational philosophy at Bank Street is one of progressive education. Learning is experiential, inquiry-based, and meets the needs of the whole child. It was a perfect match for what I believe in as to how children should learn and certainly, how teachers should teach.
It was at Bank Street where I quickly learned that cooking and baking with students on a daily basis had many educational benefits like reading, math, language, science, social studies, and more! Child-centered classrooms were equipped with toaster ovens, food supplies, recipes written out, and everything else, geared towards little hands and little people working collaboratively each and every day to bake. Food was tied to thematic studies, community and culture. There was purpose in everything. Children gained confidence, worked in collaboration, and appreciated others. There was such a beautiful sense of community and respect for others. Cooking and baking were also a part of the curriculum in grades beyond early childhood. Upper elementary classrooms also valued the skills mastered by students.
Quite naturally, in the years that followed in my own classrooms as a teacher, I made sure to implement cooking in my curriculum as well. When I graduated with my Master’s degree, almost all of my classmates were heading to work in progressive, independent schools in all boroughs of New York City. I too, was excited as I decided to work in the inner city and give my students (mostly Black and brown children) a private school education in a progressive public school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. And it was in my classroom there and in schools that followed, as I grew in experience, knowledge, and roles, that my students were happy with cooking and baking in the classroom! I was elated too!
Now, as Sammy’s Mommy, aka Sous Chef, while unschooling him, we find ourselves in our kitchen baking often. As a result, Sammy’s fine motor skills continue to grow.
In this particular baking experience, Sammy lifted, poured, and scooped many ingredients essential to making our cupcakes like the bowl, measuring cup, water, cake batter, etc. We reviewed the recipe often and talked about the measurement and sequence of ingredients. Sammy’s vocabulary has grown so much as a result of baking and he loves to try new foods. Of course, there is so much math, science, and language skills as well as other educational benefits all tied into baking and cooking with children. Moreover, Sammy and I engage with one another and bond more as we laugh and joke around a lot in our kitchen. Simply put, we have such a fun time baking!
Sammy has also become so independent in our kitchen. Ever since he was 2 years old, he has had his own cabinet with two shelves which store his own plates, cups, bowls, and utensils. It is strategically located on the bottom of our cabinet unit so that it provides easier access for him. It is so important that children (starting as toddlers) have a sense of autonomy in the home.
So there you have it… another experience while I, Mommy Sous Chef 
assist my Little Head Chef 
in the kitchen!
I Think you and Sammy are great I love reading your blog. Also when I listened to your ” Intentional” video on FB it started me on my Intentional Journey of getting healthy by making better food choices and adding more activity to my daily life.
Thanks so much Paula! I am so glad you enjoy reading my blogs! Thank you also for listening to my IG Live on “Intentionality!” Congratulations for starting your intentional journey of getting healthy by making better food choices and adding more activity to your daily life! This is POWERFUL!! I would love to hear how it is going. It is definitely a one-day-at-a-time process. I am glad that you and I are on this journey together and can share tips with one another. I will be publishing a blog post soon on my fatty liver journey and how it’s going. Hopefully, it will inspire you even more. Thanks again!
Those cupcakes sure look good! Learning and having fun at the same time. Priceless!
Thank you Devonne! They were SO DELICIOUS!! Sammy is a CHOCOLATE LOVER like us! LOL
Great Blog Lesley! The cupcakes look so Delicious and the pictures are Priceless!
Sammy is all smiles and is so proud of his culinary skills!
Thank you Gloria! The cupcakes were SO moist and yummy! They did not last long. LOL Yes, Sammy LOVES baking! Thanks for supporting WatchMonkeyMama!
Wow! I just learned a lot from this post again. I had never baked before the pandemic began. Baking isn’t so common in Asia. Now I bake only 2 things and I often bake those with my daughter. I never thought of incorporating math, social studies, sequencing, and all. She surely loves pouring and mixing ingredients. Sometimes, it takes patience as there is a lot of mess created to clean up. Haha! So I learned from your blog and I’m going to teach sequencing, math, etc while baking. And yes, I agree having autonomy is very important. You are helping Sammy build learner autonomy.
Sookie, you always say the nicest things! First of all, thank you for reading my blog post. I am so glad to hear that you both will bake keeping in mind all the educational benefits that come along with it. I can’t wait to hear how it goes and see amazing pictures! Thank you!
Your blog captured the cooking experience, the joy, the divine tastiness of the cupcakes, the mother and son time, the varied subject lessons learned, discoveries made. Pictures are fabulous! All is magazine ready…
Thank you so much for reading my latest blog and confirming all that it entailed! Sammy and I have so much fun learning and baking together on a daily basis! I hope it inspires other parents, caregivers, and teachers, etc. to do the same.
You have shown time and time again how important interaction is with your child. It is essential in the development if your childs linguistic, cognitive and physical abilities. Thabk you for sharing this wiyh us. Are those cupcakes vegan, because they sure look good.
Thank you for recognizing and acknowledging this Jaime! I am so glad you agree with just how essential engagement is for children and parents/caregivers. And the cupcakes actually were not vegan (this time). LOL Trust me…I am in search of vegan ones for us to bake soon. 🙂
I love your hands-on unschooling approach with our son. You’re the best Mother and Home School Teacher for Sammy!
This blog was extremely informative and enjoyable to read.
Thank you sweetheart! I am so appreciative of the fact that you agree with this educational and learning approach of unschooling our son and that you constantly make observations about Sammy and compliment him. I also love how you often thank me for teaching him. I am so glad you enjoyed this blog.
Excellent blog with priceless content. The beautiful thing is he is learning with no effort or pressure. Keep up the good work and many thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for saying this Mary Lee! “The beautiful thing is he is learning with no effort or pressure.” Your statement is music to my ears. This is what I love so much about Sammy’s educational and learning process that is of interest to him. And the lessons that are coming out of these hands-on lessons are meaningful to him and full of so much content. Thank you for reading and commenting.