How to Plan a Baking Day With Your Children

Baking is one of those activities that brings back warm memories of kids with their moms and grandmothers. I hear so many people reminisce about the times they would spend baking with those they love. While things are different now, and we can easily buy cookies and bread from the store, there is something special about planning a day to bake with your children. 

It doesn’t just have to be during the winter holidays either, you can easily plan to bake in summer too. We learned a lot about making treats on our trips to Hershey’s Chocolate World. You can take those fun experiences and bring them home when you plan a baking day.

Set Aside the Time

First, you’ll need to plan the day. If it’s going to be a weekend or on a school holiday, put in on the calendar. The nice thing is, you can bake just as easily in July as you can in December, and most ingredients are available in the stores year-round. Doing activities like these is something intentional, so make sure you commit to it and tell the kids when to expect a fun baking day. Once the day is set, it’s time to make a plan.

Plan What You’ll Make

While you might have all day, you want to be careful to decide which things will get made first. If you plan to use active dry yeast to make yeast dough for instance, that may need to be started the day before. Additionally, you’ll need to check the pantry to see what you have and what you need.

Whether you plan to make breads, cookies, cupcakes, or other delectable treats, let your kids chime in with what they’d like to have. If you homeschool, this is also an easy way to help them use math skills like fractions and following directions. Whether you use family recipes or find something new online, this is an important planning step.

Make a List to Buy Ingredients and Supplies

Make a list of everything you need from flour to sugar, vanilla and sprinkles. You want everything to be easily accessible on your baking day. A list will help you easily get everything you need. Some stores may not carry an ingredient in the off season, so you might need to visit more than one location to get the supplies you need. Don’t forget things like cupcake paper and parchment paper if needed.

Make it Fun

The point of a baking day is to get messy, make treats, and more importantly, make memories. There are plenty of ways to make it a fun day, the important thing is to relax. Things won’t go perfectly, which I know can be hard for moms.

             Music

Turn on your favorite music and get to work. Music can make the time more fun and help solidify those memory making aspects of the day. Let the kids each pick favorite songs and sing along loudly.

             Breaks

Remember, they are kids and they need breaks. Every 45 minutes or so, take a break. Let them do something new. Maybe have some coloring sheets in the kitchen or let them take photos with your smartphone. The idea here is to break up the day so that it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like fun.

Enjoy It

Once everything is baked, let your kids try a everything. They worked hard to help you make it, so they should enjoy the fruits of their labor. On most normal days you might limit them to only one treat. But for this special day, give them freedom to taste it all. They don’t need giant piece of cake or 55 cookies, but a cookie, a small slice of cake with a generous amount of frosting is the perfect amount for each child.

Give it Away

So, what do you do with 15 desserts? Well, you could freeze some, you could eat some, but you can also give them away. Share your treats with friends, family, and neighbors. Use it as an opportunity to make someone’s else’s day.

Use it as an extra opportunity to teach your children the importance of kindness. It’s amazing how a fresh-baked treat can make someone feel extra special and loved.