Early in December, Elijah took three LIVE cooking classes from Mixing Bowl Academy. (We set up a laptop in the kitchen.)
The first day he made a cookie we’d never had before: frosted chocolate walnut cookies. Delicious!
The second day he baked up some yummy Mexican Wedding cakes and rolled them in powdered sugar.
The third day he mixed sugar cookie dough. After the cookies were baked, both boys had fun decorating them.
These classes were fantastic. Truly fantastic! Sandie is happy and enthusiastic; she does a great job making sure everyone is ready before she gives the next set of instructions. She has her own children modeling the cooking which makes your children comfortable (if they can do it, so can I).
I don’t want to bore you with my glowing review. I know the more words I give you, the less you will read, but please read why I love these classes (and why my children will be continuing these in the future!):
1. Elijah gained confidence and independence in the kitchen. He gathered the supplies, mixed up recipes without my help, and even removed all the cookies from the baking sheet (something he’s never done before!).
2. I know you can cook at home without paying for a class. Well, we can too, but the best laid plans of mice and homeschooling moms frequently go awry! Sometimes I just don’t have the gumption to do what I told myself I would. However, these three classes put me in a different place. I was forced to have everything ready to go; I couldn’t procrastinate. Sandie sends out the ingredient/supply lists ahead of time, and I had to have the items on my grocery list. I was motivated to put extra energy into making sure that these cooking activities actually happened (and I was glad that I did!).
3. Elijah is very visual and listening is hard for him. He frequently and constantly has to ask us to repeat something for him. The first day he had a hard time concentrating on listening and cooking at the same time, but I noticed improvement in his listening skills by the third day. Cooking is a basic skill all people should acquire, but listening is even MORE fundamental. I hope as Elijah continues on with the classes that I will note even more progress.
4. About a week after the classes, Elijah was insistent that I go to Currclick and find out what was going to be offered in the spring. He had a blast, and he can’t wait to continue. These classes will help us add a dash of fun in our school day and help us weather the winter! The Jr. Chef classes look super. They will be learning to cook meatballs & marinara, "sopita" with ground beef, homemade soft pretzels, hot crossed buns, toffee bars, and so much more!
Simon wants in on the fun, too, so I was thrilled to find out that classes for Lil Chefs (ages 4-7) are also offered. They will be making homemade peanut butter, strawberry smoothies, a berry parfait, and more!
If these classes sound like something you would like to try for free, you have a few different opportunities!
1. Go sign up for Mixing Bowl Academy’s FREE open house. Go, go, go! Try it and see what you think.
2. I am giving away one FREE LIVE class (this doesn’t include a month or a bundle). If you would like to enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this blog post.
Additional entries for the FREE class:
~Go to Currclick and look at the spring classes being offered by Mixing Bowl Academy. You can find the Jr. Chef classes here. You can also choose a Lil Chefs class, if you want. Post another comment and let me know which class looks like one your kids would love.
~Blab about (and link to) this contest on Facebook, a Yahoo! Group, or Twitter and tell me that you did so. You can have one entry each time you blab. š
Contest ends on Monday, January 3rd. I will use random number generator to pick a winner, and you will be given instructions regarding how to contact Mixing Bowl Academy to choose your free class.
3. I am also giving away one FREE MONTH of LIVE classes! To enter go to this blog post. Don’t miss your chance to win a FREE month of Mixing Bowl Academy classes!
Rickki says
I think my chef would like making the soft pretzels!!
Denise Porter says
Thanks for cooking up such a great giveaway for our homeschool kiddos…. Hope we win… drooling already!
Denise Porter says
Linked to this page on FB, too!
claudia st hilaire says
great idea for all kinds of kids, i have a adhd boy that i think would be perfect for this,..