I was baking bread with my daughter the other day and it made me think about how many activities take place in our everyday life that give us an opportunity to learn. The benefit of homeschooling your children is that learning outcomes don't have to be met by a specific curriculum or book knowledge. Our children can learn all kinds of fascinating facts and information by doing chores around the house or participating in life skills.
A fun activity to do as a family is to bake bread. Kids get a chance to see the process involved in making something they eat on a daily basis. Bread is fascinating for kids, watching the yeast bubble in the warm liquids, feeling the gooey bread dough on their hands, watching the unbaked bread rise, and smelling the completed project, it is all so exciting for them. I encourage you to find your favourite bread recipe, bake it with your children, and then spend some time discussing your project, learning about yeast, doing experiments with yeast, and reading stories about bread making. For more information on studying yeast with your kids go to the Explore the Science of Yeast website. On this website you will find experiments, history, types of yeast, photos of yeast, and all kinds of information. You can tie language arts and health and career learning outcomes into the activity by reading "The Little Red Hen". After reading the story (or having your child listen to it on the previous link) you can discuss with your children the process of turning a kernel of wheat into bread, also discuss the moral of the story and the importance of serving others. For more activities with the Little Red Hen you can go to this link and you will find all sorts of neat and creative ideas. If you have older children you could tie in their study of Ancient Civilizations by looking into the the technology used to bake bread in these Ancient Cultures. You can spring board your study by reading this article about the discovery of an ancient Egyptian bakery. Another link to the technology involved in ancient Egyptian bread making can be found here. Have your child compare the ancient technology with our modern day technology. Are there things that we do today because of the ancient Egyptians? Younger children could meet socials outcomes by studying the differences in the technology used at home for bread making and the technology used in a large scale bakery. These are just some ideas to spring board your imagination when it comes to including your children in the activities of running your household. Everyone loves fresh, home baked bread, teach your children the joy of serving others by making two loaves, one for your family and one to deliver to a neighbour, family member, or sick person at church and your kids will do more than just meet learning outcomes, they will also learn to love like Jesus does!