4 Reasons You Should Incorporate Cooking in Your Homeschool Curriculum

We're starting things a little early this year with our homeschooling journey. Our start date is August 7th, but I can't make the promise that we'll continue with this new feat throughout the years to come. Honestly, I think we're just a little excited to start this new chapter and I hope it sticks throughout the years!

Ever since Johannah was little she's shown interest for things in the kitchen, so we've started the cooking classes early with her. I love the quality time we get to spend together! But besides fun, there are some very important reasons that you should incorporate cooking in your homeschool curriculum.

Homeschooling provides us with an awesome opportunity to merge our surroundings and daily activities into fun learning opportunities and life lessons. We have a great responsibility to share as much knowledge as we can with our children, teaching them all we can in that short period of childhood.

4 reasons you should incorporate cooking in your homeschool curriculum

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1. Cooking is an important skill set

By taking the time to teach your kids to cook you are sharing with them a valuable skill set that they can continue to use for their whole lives. Remember that old saying about the fish? Give a man a fish and he eats for the day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Teaching your kids how to cook allows them to explore creativity and their personal tastes. It gives them the opportunity to be able to create whatever their heart desires whenever their heart desires it, without depending on someone else.

2. Cooking teaches good habits

Show your kids how cooking can be savvier and healthier than eating out. Cooking teaches you to use what you have or to be responsible when visiting the grocery store. Knowing how to cook allows people to control what goes into their bodies and even makes them wonder about how food affects the body. Compare the costs of cooking to eating out. Take into account the quality of the ingredients you are eating when comparing those costs. More often than not, you'll learn that cooking is an important part of being a happier, healthier, person.

3. Cooking Teaches Responsibility

The sooner you start allowing your children in the kitchen, the quicker they will advance. As they grow into the kitchen, they'll learn more about food, serving others, patience, and pride. They will learn the importance of following a recipe, or creating their own. They will learn how to be patient while the meal comes together and how to multitask to get it done. They will learn about serving others by cooking according to the families needs and likes. Then they will feel accomplished to see what seemed like such a grave task, completed and tasting yummy.

4. Cooking is a way to learn outside of the box

Cooking often uses two very important subjects you'll already be teaching your children, Math and Science. When you incorporate cooking in your homeschool curriculum it helps to back up the academics you are teaching. We use math when we measure ingredients, count calories, and follow recipes. We use science when we learn about the ingredients we are using, how they taste, where they came from, how ingredients interact with each other, and more.

Do you have a little one who is a picky eater? If you incorporate cooking into your homeschool curriculum, it's a surefire way to help teach them more about food, why it's good for them, and why trying new things can benefit them. Think about Daniel Tiger "Try new things cause they might taste goo-ood!"

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Let your kids use cooking utensils that are specifically designed for children. Not only will they be excited to have their own tools, but it encourages them to use them with ease. Let them choose their own cooking attire that matches their interests. Maybe a chef hat or an apron that feels like it's designed for them.