Little Cookhouse hosted our first birthday bakeout party for Leah and her invited guests last Sunday. This is our very first party event, and based on the knowledge the kids have with numbers and measurement (this is important! and we’re glad to have a few round of chats with Leah’s mummy, so that we can plan our classes according to age-appropriate skills), we decide to make this a skills-focus party for them!

What’s a bakeout without chef hats! But to decorate the chef hats, the children had to hunt for decorations in a scavenger hunt. Given the time limit, some children managed to find materials while others did not. This was the perfect opportunity for children to learn the value of sharing, and exchanging for materials that they needed but didnt find.

With hats done and aprons put on, the children were roaring to get started with the baking! Unlike regular lessons, the little chefs had to read through the recipe card and “shop” for their own ingredients from the pantry! That’s not all…. they had to work in pairs to weigh out the ingredients that they needed for the orange cake. They stirred…and they stirred….and off the orange cake goes into the oven.

With the cakes in the oven, it was time for the little chefs to bake their savory dish – PIZZA!! Who doesn’t like pizza, but did you know that pizza can also make a balanced meal. The children learnt about the Food Groups and had to include at least 1 item from each of the food groups in their pizza. We then get them to cut the ingredients, and it’s amazing to see how the characteristics of each kid manifest in this simple activity…. We see some who rush through the task producing cuts of different sizes; while others patiently cut with such precision, that every piece is of the same size and shape! It’s certainly a good way to train patience in the little one!