Baking with kids is a great way to get their maths skills up to speed! Here are Mason Cash’s top tips to help your kids with maths by baking during the school holidays. No matter how you 'slice' it, maths and baking go hand in hand!
Measurement and conversion
Baking is all about exact measurements, so it's important for kids to learn how to count and convert.Have your child measure the ingredients with a measuring cup or spoon, and talk about things like halves, quarters, thirds, and more. Introduce conversions between ounces and grams, too.
Recipe Scaling
Teach them how to scale recipes by asking your child to figure out the ingredient amounts needed to make 12 cookies, 24 cookies, 36 cookies, etc. It's a great way to help your child learn maths through ratios and division.
Fractions & Ratios
Fractions and ratios are a big part of baking. Help your child to divide and combine ingredients to teach them to understand fractions. For example, if you have a recipe that calls for 100g of flour, ask your kid how much flour they need to make half of the batch, or double!
Time and Timers
Baking involves precise timing, which help kids learn about time. Set a timer for 30 minutes and have a conversation about “bake for 30 minutes” or “mix for 2 minutes.”
Geometry & Shapes
Baking is a great place to learn about geometry and shapes. Talk to your child about the different shapes of a baking pan (rectangles, round, etc.) and the properties of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. Ask your kid to recognise shapes when they're cutting out cookies or decorating cakes.
Budgeting
One of the best ways to teach your child about money is through budgeting. Get them involved in buying baking ingredients by setting up a budget, comparing prices of different brands, figuring out how much each item will cost, and making sure they have enough money to buy everything they need. Whether you’re trying some easy baking recipes or something a bit more advanced, it’s a great way to include some easy maths skills.
Graphs & Data Analysis
Graphs are a great way to keep track of your child’s baking projects. You can graph the results of various cookie recipes using taste, texture, or sweetness as variables. This will help your child understand the data, make sense of it, and make changes to the recipe next time.
Don't forget to make baking a fun and interactive experience for children; you could even host your very own Bake Off! Incorporating maths into your kids' baking activities will help them learn how to use number concepts in a practical way while they're busy in the kitchen. Ready, Set, BAKE!
