The Perfect Cooking Subscription Box for Homeschoolers | Baketivity Review

I think it's something that is engrained in homeschool parents to seek out activities that are both educational, and fun, for our kids to engage in on a regular basis.

Boredom is not acceptable in this house! So, if you're anything like me, you gravitate towards games, opportunities, and activities that encourage life skills at different skill levels, have deeply rooted developmental features, and are family friendly!

I've talked about the importance of incorporating cooking and baking in your homeschool, but I have finally found the best cooking subscription box for homeschoolers- and I don't say that lightly.

Don't forget to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for a freebie + giveaway that you don't want to miss!

Baketivity goes beyond providing a monthly cooking kit for kids- they provides a true educational experience intertwined with an activity that is fulfilled through recipe instructions and accompanying activity book- but we'll get to all of that soon.

What is Baketivity?

Baketivity is a monthly cooking subscription kit for kids. When you sign up for this DIY baking box, your kids receive a different recipe and activity monthly that includes pre-measured ingredients, step by step picture-book-like instructions, and educational activities.

How is Baketivity different from other subscription baking DIY Kits?

In my opinion, what sets Baketivity apart from all the other subscription cooking boxes for kids is two main factors that I'll go over in detail below.

1. Baketivity includes most of the necessary ingredients you'll need to complete each monthly recipe.

It's important to note that they do not include perishables like eggs and oil, but your dry ingredients are already pre-packaged and pre-measured when they're delivered to your door.

While this is a key factor, I consider it both a pro and a con.

P.S. All of Baketivity's prepackaged ingredients are kosher-certified.

The Pros of Baketivity's pre-packaged ingredients.

By providing the ingredients, it's a much more cost-effective option. I don't have to be sure that we have everything on hand to complete the task when I've already paid for the subscription box.

Plus, I don't have to rush out and buy a whole bunch of ingredients for a single activity. Most of the ingredients that aren't included are pantry staples, so you should already have them, or an alternative at home.

This makes it a super easy activity for my kids to do almost independently. It also creates less mess, which means happier mama.

The pre-packaged ingredients method that Baketivity has makes it a perfect resource for younger cooks or inexperienced bakers. All in all, it makes for a much more easy and efficient activity.

But then it isn't all rainbows.

The Cons of Baketivity including pre-packaged ingredients in their subscription box.

As someone who prefers learning to be more child-led, we lose some of the experience when we receive pre-packaged ingredients.

There is no finding and collecting ingredients- pure fun. The pre-measured ingredients means that we aren't taking the time to measure each ingredient- an important step in baking, a hands-on experience, fine motor skills, and we lose a little bit of Math lessons here.

So, there's a bit of a trade off. It really depends on what you're looking for in a subscription box if this will be a good fit for your family. But, there are some ways to get around this too.

You could always measure anyways, for learning's sake. Pouring the ingredients into a measuring cup, taking notes, and learning the fractions with the pre-measured ingredients that are already included, isn't a bad option.

Also, it's important to note, that not all of the ingredients are included. So, there are times where you will be measuring out ingredients and putting them to use. It just isn't for every single ingredient, like most recipes.

What ages is Baketivity best for?

To get the best experience out of your Baketivity subscription box, the suggested ages are 4-10. However, just like the company says on their website, we found that everyone can participate and enjoy the activity!

For the littlest bakers, they won't get everything from the experience, and you'll need a little extra time and patience to ensure that everything functions properly- but it's a great experience!

For older learners, they may not be interested in every aspect, but this is a great monthly subscription kit for kids if they are just showing interest in cooking/baking.

Why is Baketivity best for homeschoolers?

Personally, I think that Baketivity is the best cooking subscription box for homeschoolers for two reasons, both extremely simple. They include educational material inside each box, and everything is so well instructed and prepared that it can be an independent activity.

Let's dive into Baketivity's educational material and included activities.

First, let's be honest, there are some other cooking subscription boxes for kids that also include educational aspects. Ahem, Raddish Kids.

So, how can we say that Baketivity is best for homeschoolers if there are other companies out there providing educational material too?

Every monthly cooking kit from Baketivity includes an educational booklet where kids can learn and discover more about the treats they are baking through science, history, health, and more.

But they don't just stop there, they also include an activity book that can be completed while their treats are baking.

When we compared the scholastic aspects of Baketivity versus Raddish, we found that Baketivity took a deeper dive into the project at hand than Raddish did.

As a homeschool family, I appreciate the central focus on the topic, and not an overall thematic cooking element or feature.

For example, in our Baketivity Gingerbread House Box, we are provided with a varition, cooking instructions, and photo evidence - all great features that I feel are needed in a cooking subscription box for kids.

While the overall theme is cooking and then building the gingerbread house, our included learning element was about the construction of a home. We learned foundation facts, construction terms, and tool matching.

We can apply this same knowledge to the construction of our own gingerbread houses.

1. A good foundation being something flat and stable.
2. The proper pieces of the project (terms).
3. And the proper tools that we need to complete the project; ingredients, measuring cup, rolling pin, etc.

So, Baketivity's focus on the task and comparing it to a real life exercise is a great learning element for homeschool families, alongside their cooking basics.

Whereas, we found that other boxes used thematic cooking basics as the central element of their academic portion with some lighter educational influences thrown into the mix.

Now, let's look at the easy to complete instructions.

One of the best parts of homeschooling is the fact that we can personalize our kid's learning experiences. In traditional school environments, where an activity may have been emphasized as a hands-on activity- it very well may not have been because of the lack of individualized material for each student.

As homeschoolers, we don't have to share the material with others, making each learning opportunity individual, hands-on, and personal.

I love watching my kid's learn by allowing them to work independently. This is where Baketivity excels.

Each instruction is accompanied by/with a photo to ensure that every direction is followed properly. This is so important for kids!

By providing detailed instructions, along with photo instructions, children can make a very detailed connection between the written portion and the delivery (actually doing) portion.

By creating this connection, kids are more likely to understand and succeed at the task at hand.

All of the detailed instructions included in each Baketivity monthly cooking subscription box are truly tailored to kids who want to learn and provide them with the proper plan to do so.

Tips for getting the best educational experience out of your Baketivity monthly cooking kit for kids.

Baketivity does a great job at making its activities educational, but as homeschoolers, there are ways that you can take it a step further by centralizing the whole day, or even the whole week, around a Baketivity cooking lesson!

Plan ahead for cooking.

When I first started looking into Baketivity, I first saw the pre-packaged and pre-measured ingredients and didn't think that there would be much prep. While that is necessarily true, you may need to look at the ingredients and be sure that you have them all on hand.

If you don't, make this an activity within itself!

1. Challenge your kids to raid the pantry and then make a shopping list for the ingredients that they don't have.
2. Create a budget battle! Give your kids a small amount of money and challenge them to buy the ingredients needed with it. This is a great way to teach Math skills and money-management. You could even charge for the ingredients that are already included!
3. When you go shopping, have the kids find the ingredients that you need! This life-skills activity is one that I wish my husband had.

Plan ahead for learning.

While Baketivity includes an educational activity, it also acts as a great building block for a deeper dive into learning and critical thinking! Explore different ideas for learning more about what you're baking.

For example, say we're making pretzels. We can create a whole week of activities surrounding the pretzel themed kit! Break out those unit studies and get ready for an adventure!

Elements to consider in your Baketivity Themed Unit Study

1. How old is this food item? When was the first record of it made? Where was it first made? Is it a traditional food item?
2. In what part of the world is this item commonly found?
3. What ingredients are common to this part of the world?
4. What else can I make with the majority of these ingredients?
5. What language do they speak in the area of the world where this item originated?
6. Is there a video where we can watch a native person make this dish or item?
7. How is the traditional recipe differ from the recipe that we made?

Plan ahead for messes.

Anytime that you invite kids into the kitchen, you can guarantee that there WILL be messes made. Thinking that you can go mess-free is a fairytale.

If you're a clean person, prepare yourself for the mess that is ahead and try not to be bothered about it when it happens. But how do you make messes an educational activity?

Did you know that there is a proper and improper way to clean a mess? For example, you wouldn't try to clean up spilled milk with a wet towel. No. You would soak it up with a dry one and then wipe down the area with a disinfectant and wet towel.

Teach your children life-skills at every opportunity. They helped make the mess, they help clean the mess. And if you take the time to show them how to do it right, then they learn something valuable to help them in the future.

Brain Bites FREEBIE!

Ever notice how when your kids sit at the table for any meal, they're immediately looking for something to read, do, or talk about.

It's because their little brains need to be entertained. They need that simulation that comes from being active- even when they're seated.

So how do you turn that moment into a learning activity? We've got an easy answer for you! Our Brain Bites Placemats are the perfect printable mats to add into your rotation.

Brain Bites Mats are reusable PDFs in placemat formats that include what we call knowledge nuggets! Knowledge nuggets are snippets of information that are purposed to engage, stimulate, and feed your child's interests and natural desire to learn!

You can get our Brain Bites: All About Baking Mats for FREE now!

Baketivity Giveaway

Interested in trying out Baketivity with your family? You can enter right now for the chance to win one of two Baketivity Subscription Boxes!

What Baketivity Boxes is it?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

When does it end? 

This offer ends on December 22nd, 2021.

Baketivity for Homeschoolers Review Conclusion

After personally trying out Baketivity, we think that this kids cooking subscription box is the best option overall, especially for homeschoolers.

We encourage you to try it out for yourself and get 20% off your first Baketivity kit with coupon code Brooke20 until December 31st, 2021. You’ll be amazed at how much learning can happen while the kids think they’re just having fun in the kitchen!

If you're shopping for a gift, Baketivity makes the perfect gift for any child in your family- homeschooler or not! Each month is a different theme, so you always have fun!

Oh, and if you're looking for quality kitchen tools for your kids, don't forget to check out Baketivity for that too! They have a great gift box that will make any kid feel like a junior chef.

This is a sponsored post from Baketivity. All opinions are my own and have not been swayed in any way.