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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2017)
2]Ta-);<-:67:-/768):-6< Edible science: Teaching your kids while they cook By VIRGINIA JUSTICE Many people don’t realize that cooking is a science and recipes are actually formulas. It’s true – and it’s one of the best ways to teach children science while making it enjoyable. Crea ng ex- periments you can eat is a great way to share the joy of science with children. Author Vicki Cobb has wri en two books on the subject, en tled “Science Experiments You Can Eat” and “More Science Ex- periments You Can Eat.” Both books focus on easy, edible science experi- ments that can be done in the classroom or at home. Since the release of the fi rst book in 1984, the idea caught on and others have wri en books demonstra ng the science of cooking for children such as “The Science Chef: 100 Fun Food Experiments and Recipes for Kids” by Joan D’Amico and Karen E. HEATHER A. BACON, PH.D. & JENNIFER K. COOPER, PSY.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologists Helping parents discover new ways to shape behavior and reconnect with children. Currently accepting new patients. Most insurance and private pay accepted. 860 W. Elm Ave., Suite 204, Hermiston, OR 97838 541-289-7777 • hermistonpsych.com Drummond or “Exploring Kitchen Science” by The Exploratorium. Beyond teaching science, cook- ing and food are an excellent way to teach math skills, especially frac- ons. For example, use a pizza to teach the concept of frac- ons. Typically, pizzas are cut into eight slices; howev- er, you can cut one into as many slices as you like. By bringing math and science into food and cooking, you are making it a real-world applica on, something tangible and more easily understood. Using a pizza you can demonstrate how 2/8 is equal to 1/4 and 4/8 is equal to 1/2. Then you can eat the lesson! Did you know that wintergreen lifesavers spark when chewed? Take children into a com- pletely dark room with a mirror and allow them to watch as they bite down on one. On a side note, you may want to hide the lifesavers if you buy them in a large bag; I found the empty bag and many broken lifesavers in our downstairs bath- room a er showing my girls this scien fi c trick. Bread making is great to high- light chemistry and biology. Start with warm water, yeast and a bit of sugar or honey. Yeast is a living organism that grows in warmth and feeds on the sugar. This organ- ism produces gases, which, when combined with fl our (another food source for the yeast), salt, and other ingredients, infl ates the dough with air (gas) bubbles, giv- ing bread its light, fl uff y texture. You might not think salt would be that important in bread making, however, it is essen al. Salt acts as Education a control for the yeast. Without it, the yeast would produce more and more gas and your bread dough would expand out of control. An easy and inexpensive experi- ment to demonstrate the need for salt is to take two bowls, fi ll each with one cup warm water(not over 110 degrees), 1 tsp. of yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar/honey. Mix the yeast and sugar well into the water, place both bowls on a cookie sheet in a warm area free from dra s. A er about half an hour add ½ tsp. of salt to one of the bowls, allow the bowls to sit undisturbed for an- other hour or more. You should see a considerable diff erence between the bowl without salt, depending upon how fresh the yeast is. It may even fl ow over onto the cookie sheet. For addi onal edible science ex- periments, do a Google search for “kitchen science,” “science experi- ments you can eat,” or “edible sci- ence.” Pintrest is another excellent resource for recipes, lesson plans and other ways to connect learning with fun. And you’ll fi nd more ideas at www.cookingwithkids.org. Studies show that reten on is greater when learning is meaning- ful, and most children fi nd ex- perimen ng and ea ng enjoyable. Learning is FUNdamental – why not make it tasty, too! ________ Home economist Virginia JusƟ ce holds an educaƟ on degree. The Pendleton resident and her husband have two college-aged daughters.
