From my window, I watched the neighbors walk with their two little boys, ages 6 and 3, heading to my front door. I had all of the ingredients for chocolate chip cookie baking set up in my kitchen. I was ready for them.
The scene reminded me of Ms. Swider-Wenz and I having fifth-graders make cookies as a culminating activity for their fraction unit. They had to halve a recipe, no small task for anyone, let alone new fraction users. If you want a good laugh, ask Ms. SW about the experience!
The two boys entered the house despite the barking and over-friendly greeting from our dogs, and we got to work. Their first task was to unwrap the butter and cut it into small pieces. Once that we done, they took turns on the stool I had from when my daughters were young. Both struggled with getting all the sugar from the container into the measuring cup, and their mom stood by somewhat aghast at the mess I was allowing. Maybe it was easier for me to allow the mess since they were leaving soon– I’d have plenty of time to clean it up.
“Have you ever cracked an egg?” I asked.
The older boy nodded. His mom shook her head.
With a fair amount of coaching, both eggs were cracked, shells were picked out, and hands were washed.
I’d offered the parents the opportunity to go for a walk, but they chose to stay, and they could still be talking about the flour measuring since the flour presented the next challenge. I compared it to shoveling sand, but flour is much finer than sand, and the dogs had a good time licking drifting flour from the floor.
We didn’t break efficiency records for getting the cookies done, and I had a lot of de-sticking to do of ANYTHING they touched. That being said, we all agreed that the final products were delicious, and I have no doubt that the boys will come back once I’m ready for another deep kitchen cleaning!
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