Ice Day = Valentine's Baking Day

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     Quick quiz: it’s the beginning of February, a winter storm blew through during the night coating everything in a layer of ice and you’re stuck indoors with a rambunctious three-year-old…
 
WHAT DO YOU DO?!
 
You get busy in the kitchen baking Valentine’s Day cookies, of course! And then you enjoy your delectable desserts while poring over a Valentine's storybook. Baking and books...a positively perfect combination!

     With nowhere to go and Valentine’s Day fast approaching we spent the day trying out two new cookie recipes: soft sugar cookies and red velvet cookies made from a cake mix. Yes, that’s right, we used a box cake mix to make cookies and it worked out better than we anticipated. The recipe came from a Tasty video: Cake Mix Cookies 9 Ways.

     Since the sugar cookies were a roll-out cookie, we started our baking bonanza by preparing the dough for those so that it could chill while we worked on our red velvet cookies, which were a simple drop cookie. An essential part of helping in the kitchen is learning how to prioritize tasks and manage time wisely, thus talking about which cookies we were going to start working on first and why was an excellent introduction to those vital life skills for my daughter. We made The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies from All Recipes.com and actually cut the recipe in half, which led to a little lesson about fractions as we measured out the ingredients.  The great thing about getting kids in the kitchen is that they are learning so many new things without even realizing it and you're also creating lasting memories.

     At three years old most children, my daughter included, can assist with (or even accomplish on their own with proper supervision) cooking tasks:

• Reading basic quantities on a recipe - for example: when pointed out, my daughter can tell me how many eggs or how many cups of flour we need in a recipe.
  
• Measuring and pouring
  
• Cracking eggs
• Mixing
• Rolling out dough
• Cutting out shapes with a cookie cutter
• Decorating
  
• Knowing the proper tools by name
  

     Remember that children are far more capable than we often give them credit for. Let your child not only assist you but try new things on their own. This helps build confidence and self-esteem. Don't be afraid of the messes that might happen, these can always be cleaned up and also teaches your child that they need to clean up after themselves. I am always amazed at what my daughter can do and spending time together in the kitchen gives us an additional opportunity to bond especially when we pair the time with a book or an additional extended activity, which in this case was valentine coloring pages and making our own valentines.

      Once all of our baking was complete and we had sampled our confections, we snuggled up with some Valentine's books. Below is a list of some of our favorite picture books all about love.

Love Is by Diane Adams

I Love You, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton

Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is Cool by James Dean

Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Friedman

Ruby Valentine and the Sweet Surprise by Laurie Friedman

Holy Cow, I Sure Do Love You!: A Little Book That's Oddly Moo-ving by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Max's Valentine by Rosemary Wells

Bagel in Love by Natasha Wing

A Crankenstein Valentine by Samantha Berger

Pete the Cat's Groovy Guide to Love by James Dean

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda Ferber

Ruby Valentine Saves the Day by Laurie Friedman

The 12 Days of Valentine's byJenna Lettice

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli

Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story by Lisa Wheeler

The Night Before Valentine's Day by Natasha Wing

     For more Valentine's Day books, take a look at our previous post: 9 Books for Valentine's Day!

Happy baking and reading!

-Kate @ BTBL

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Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest editions, a daughter for Kate (now 3) and a son for Amanda (now 1.) We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.