Cooking is one of my favorite things to do with kids, both as a parent and as a teacher. I encourage you all to spend some time in the kitchen with your child – they really do learn a lot of “academic” skills! Most children love the whole process of measuring ingredients, mixing things together, and seeing/eating the finished product. Little do they realize that learning is taking place!
Math skills (counting, fractions, sorting, sequencing, weighing and problem solving), reading skills, scientific concepts (making predictions, experimentation, how food changes while cooking, sensory exploration), as well as geography (where food grows) and history (family recipes) are all things that children learn as they cook.
My math group will be cooking tomorrow as part of their math lesson. However, we will also be learning a bit about Lea’s family as we make “Great Grandmom Shirley’s Banana cake”. This is a fourth-generation family recipe, and we celebrate her memory by making this cake.
Many thanks to Kjirsten for sharing this part of Lea’s family history as well as coming in to help make it!
Great Grandmom Shirley’s Banana Cake
¼ pound butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 really ripe bananas, mashed
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and mix. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, salt, baking soda and baking power; mix thoroughly. Add the flour and mix. It will be a nasty looking mess.
Grease a bread pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Shut off the oven, let it stand for another 15 minutes. (This is really, really important!)
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