Bite-Size Life Lessons

I don't know about anyone else, but spending more time at home recently has lead to a whole lot of baking at home. With books and baking on my mind, this week's story inspiration was a no brainer. Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a book full of sweet (pun intended) reminders of some very important life lessons and values.

I am working on patience right now, and the author's words "I am waiting... still waiting... aren't I waiting so nicely?" really resonated with me this week. Let's all keep waiting nicely, and practicing optimism and hope. And while we're at it, a storytime and warm cookies couldn't hurt.

Enjoy the story below from The Teaching Nook's YouTube Channel. What bite-size life lesson can you relate to most this week?

After reading this story with my daughter, we decided to bake cookies using the recipe found in the back of the book.  We did not have any chocolate chips, and had no plans to leave the house so used chopped up Easter chocolate instead.  The cookies did not disappoint. Here is the recipe from the book:

How can baking be incorporated into our learning at home? Here are a few simple ideas:

1) Math: Basic measurement (ie: 2 inches apart) and metric/imperial measurement  (ie: cups, teaspoon, tablespoon, ounces), greater than less than (ie: 1/2 cup vs. 1 cup), and of course fractions.
2) Reading the recipe offers opportunities for new and experienced readers to practice. Are there any words that you aren’t familiar with? (Ie: semisweet) Look them up!
3) Procedural writing: Can you write out the steps to a recipe or an activity that you know how to do well? How many details are needed to make it easy to follow for someone who has never done it before?
4) Science: Research why we mix dry and wet ingredients separately.  Do you know any science experiments that can be done with baking soda? And just what do ingredients like baking soda and baking powder add to a recipe? What is the difference between the two? I bet Wonderopolis can help you out with these questions.

Happy baking, friends!