EDUCATION IN THE KITCHEN
WHAT YOURCHILDCANLEARNFROMBAKING
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably wracking your brain for the perfect recipe to bake for your loved one. There’s nothing wrong with store-bought chocolate, but there’s no topping the personal touch of some homemade baked goods. If you have kids, baking alongside them can be just as rewarding as enjoying the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus, baking is a hands-on opportunity where your child can learn all sorts of important concepts. Here is a short list of some of the educational lessons hiding in your kitchen. Math Baking is a numbers game. Just take a look at any recipe, and you’ll recognize the importance of math in building a beautiful cake. Having children measure out ingredients helps them learn about fractions and ratios. You can also test your kids by doubling or halving a recipe for multiplication and division practice. With older kids, practice unit conversions by asking, for example, how many pints are in half a gallon. Following Directions Not unlike computer science, baking requires a strict order of operations. The wet and dry ingredients often need to be mixed separately and then folded together. It only takes one deviation
from the instructions for a pastry to go from delicious to disgusting. Spending time in the kitchen, then, is a great way for kids to learn the importance of reading directions carefully and comprehending what they’ve just read. Cultural Understanding Cuisine is a fundamental part of every culture. Introducing your child to dishes from around the world will expand their horizons. Want your child to be a less picky eater? Involving them in the cooking process is the surest way to get them excited about trying new flavors and ingredients. Nutrition Now, you might not think that baking cookies will encourage greater nutritional awareness, but hear us out. Sugar is often buried within packaged foods. When you bake something at home, a child gets to see, firsthand, just howmuch sugar goes into certain sweets. Meanwhile, cooking savory dishes also allows them to learn what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet.
KARA’S CORNER
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S DENTAL HEALTH MONTH
health has become apparent, so too has the need for great oral care as early as possible. Expectant mothers with gum disease can even transmit bacteria to their children. Creating strong habits from a young age also sets up your child for great oral health throughout their life. Don’t let your toddler fall asleep directly after drinking milk or juice, as it leaves acid in their mouths all night long, creating a fertile ground for bacteria. Fluoride toothpaste helps protect teeth from acid damage and strengthens enamel. As children age, have a hygienist teach them proper brushing and flossing techniques. Once they have the tools to brush and floss effectively, encourage them to do so. One great way to do this is to set up a calendar monitoring progress. Place a sticker on the calendar for every day that a child completes their oral care regimen. If the child completes a certain number of days in a row, give them a little prize. As the months progress, you’ll notice them brushing and flossing as a matter of course. National Children’s Dental Health Month is a reminder that providing a child with the skills and incentive to create great habits is a gift that keeps on giving. Baby teeth may fall out, but the oral care patterns you establish in childhood stick with you forever.
It may not get quite the same attention as Valentine’s Day, but February is also National Children’s Dental Health Month. Every year, the American Dental Association (ADA) comes up with a slogan that encapsulates their goals for the month. The 2018 slogan is, “Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste and clean between your teeth for a healthy smile.” People used to think that care for baby teeth wasn’t critical. “They’re just going to fall out anyway, so why worry too much about them?” This was the rationale behind the attitude. But nothing could be further from the truth. As the correlation between oral hygiene and overall
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