Life is sweet when teachable moments come up in the kitchen. Here’s a way for older kids to practice their fractions while helping you make a yummy Chocolate-Peppermint Poke Cake!
Connect school and baking with Betty’s easy hands-on way to show exactly how fractions work and why they matter in our everyday lives. Plus, when you’re done, there’s an ooey-gooey treat to share!
Directions:
- Have all the measuring equipment at your fingertips and ready for measuring. Introduce your child to the different measurements commonly used in baking—this recipe calls for cups and teaspoon measurements.
- Work through doubling fractions by doubling the recipe on paper. Ask your child how they would double the recipe if they had to serve twice as many people.
- Have your child do the math, then help put the answers into practice. To show that doubling ½ cup equals 1 cup, fill the ½-cup measure twice and pour into the 1-cup measure.
- Instead of using the exact measuring cups and spoons called for in the recipe, propose a challenge to make the recipe with different sized cups—instead of using a ½-cup measure, use two ¼-cup measures, for example.
- Be sure to make and bake the cake following the recipe directions.
Friendly reminders:
- Grease the pan before mixing.
- Save time by having a bowl on the counter to collect trash, such as egg shells, wrappers, etc.
- Don’t eat any batter or dough containing raw eggs.
- Collect the Box Tops from the baking products used to give to your child’s school!