Cooking is not only fun, engaging and educational for children, it is something you can do together. And you can eat the results!
I love children and I’ve always done it. About three decades ago, when I was trying to have my children, my dear friend and colleague Elizabeth Karmel sympathized and he suggested me compassionally that he would share his nephew August for me to keep a cookie lesson. He was only about 4 years old, but she said she was exceptionally brilliant, so I should try it. And the biscuits are an ideal appetizer for learning cooking because they are more indulgent and the small dimensions make it recognizable. He bought him mine Rose’s Christmas biscuits Book and the class was a great success. He continued to become an annual tradition and was soon reached by his younger brothers.
I had a degree in teaching at high school level from New York University. But the lessons for those three young boys were what taught me the exceptional value of the cooking teaching to children. I learned that it teaches so many essential life lessons: art, science (the value of weighing), patience, mathematics, sharing and love. And as an extra motivation, they can lick the spatulas, eat the final results and share them with friends. They ended up licking the spatulas so with enthusiasm, they destroyed several by biting themselves through them!
Two special teaching experiences took place a few years later when my 8 -year -old Alexander nephew arrived from San Francisco, California, to be with me for a week. The only imposed my brother Michael was that I assure myself that I read every day. After a few days, he called and asked if Alex was reading. “Oh, yes” was my answer. “How did you read it?” My brother asked. My answer: “Everything I had to do was read alone and wanted to do whatever I was doing. I didn’t even have to ask him to read.” He had taken the book he had already read several times and sat down right next to me! The power of learning, for example, was the lesson for us adults!
The second memorable lesson took place that week when I was making my father’s favorite cherry cake for his annual visit. Alex wanted to help, but I explained that my father gets this cake only once a year and I wanted it to be perfect. Immediately, I felt bad to have discouraged Alex, so I handed him a small piece of pasta with which to do everything he liked. After modeling him, he examined his pastry shop in some way and said resigned: “I imagine they were not a pastry shop”. This made me feel even worse, but then hit the inspiration! I pulled out a small and grooved pan and told him to press the dough and fill it with a little filling of cherry cake. Alex put his touch into it, modeling a little of the dough in balls to decorate the top.
My father arrived that afternoon and we had company. We were all eating the cherry cake on the porch, and I delivered to Alex his baked tart and a plate and I told him to reverse the tart on it. He raised from the pan to reveal the beautiful pan -shaped tart. His eyes widened in a surprise delight and then did something that normally would never have faced the company. He gave me a huge hug. Oh, I forgot to add to my list of things that cooking teaches to children! It is, perhaps, the most important lesson of all: empowerment and self -confidence!
