Howdini.Com: Cooking With Your Kids Is Another Great Way To Bond,with Lots of Benefits! (Try Fun Pancakes, Cookies, and Cakes!)!)

I closely monitor what my child gets exposed to.  We have a television, but I make sure that I pop in educational kiddie videos on the player instead of just letting her soak up whatever that’s on TV.  I’ve gotten so dismayed at all the sensationalism and horrid details of every day television news that I really make sure to let my child focus on other activities we can do together, not just make like couch potatoes.  BAKING and COOKING together have been worthwhile activities for us… When we do get to tune in to something that’s not a wholesome kiddie video, it’s a cooking episode with moms and children helping each other bake!

I’m very thankful there’s YouTube, because not only are there a lot of old snippets and clips/episodes of kiddie shows like Punky Brewster (from the 80′s!), Carebears, and Sesame Street, but also because I discovered a wonderful online show called HOWDINI.COM.

While HOWDINI is actually an umbrella of “How To’s” for pretty much anything (its tagline “Get Yourself A Guru” is so true to its name), it has a main segment called BAKING that shows a lot of very short but truly informative demos that moms/parents and children can follow.

They feature quick-and-easy recipes for cookies, cakes, decorative ideas for birthday cakes and cupcakes, pancakes, and a hodgepodge of so many interesting baking activities.  They, of course, encourage using Betty Crocker cookie and cake and icing mixes since the instructors for the baking demos are the cake experts from the Betty Crocker kitchens.

As I unofficially homeschool my child, I’ve made sure to bookmark this site for its great resources and demos that feature the cake expert with children participating in the cooking/baking activity.  My child has learned to get all excited about following instructions and has gotten all interested about the process of how one reaches a finished product like a fully baked and delicious-smelling muffin or cake! Talk about a great way to introduce scientific processes and following directions in an absolute fun and relaxed atmosphere—the kitchen in your own home!

For more details on their recipes, follow this link: http://www.howdini.com/howdini-category-80.html

My child helping mix the pancake batter

I especially loved this video from Howdini.com that features Liv Hansen, professional author and baker/cake expert.  She has lots of wonderful videos making and decorating pretty party favors and pastries, but she also has this simple, quick-and-easy demo for making FUN & CREATIVE PANCAKES.  Try this, you’re going to love it!

How To Make Fun & Creative Pancakes For Kids

I enjoyed doing this with my child, since I was able to put her in-charge of the “decorating,” as well as helping me out with the mixing of the pancake batter.  I let her watch from a distance as the pancakes cooked on the griddle.  It was also a fantastic way of encouraging her to eat and enjoy her breakfast.  We made vanilla pancakes with bananas that morning.

Now, whenever we have a lot of time, enough ingredients (even if it isn’t a rainy day and we just feel like staying in), we take out our mixing bowl, spatula, and our M&M candies and icing writers, and just wile the hours away, having fun in the kitchen.

Here are a few more wonderful recipes from Howdini.com that you can try to do with your child (or even make sweet treats for your child’s parties or your family get-togethers!):

How To Make A Fire Truck Cake

How To Make Jungle Animal Cupcakes

How To Make An Electric Guitar Cake

How To Make Easy Halloween Cookies

How To Make A Mermaid Cake

and so many more wonderful videos, just check out the Baking Section of Howdini.com.

Here are a few great and quick reads on how Cooking & Baking With Your Children Can Be Fun AND Educational For Them:

Children Cooking- What Are The Benefits?

http://www.consistent-parenting-advice.com/children-cooking.html 

Self-Raising Families: A Report on The Psychological, Social, and Practical Benefits of Family Baking and Bonding

http://www.bettycrocker.co.uk/SelfRaisingFamilies.pdf

Cool Cooking For Kids

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=541

Enjoy and don’t mind the mess! Being in the kitchen with your child (all the while making sure you’re always there to supervise them! ) is another wonderful way of adding a new shiny pebble to your family’s memory glass jar.