Kitchen and Math Lessons

The kitchen is the place to practice math. It makes math very relevant and fun for kids of all ages. They might not even know they are learning math but they sure want to make a double batch of chocolate chip cookies!Here are a few exploration ideas that work for younger ages:

• How do you double a cookie recipe?
• If this recipe for soup serves 4 people, how do we make enough for 8 people? Or 2?
• How many place settings do we need? Or if we give everyone 2 forks, one for salad and one for the entree, how many forks do we need?

And here are a few exploration ideas for older students:

• What temperature does water boil? and freeze?
• How does altitude affect the temperature that water boils?
• What is the circumference of a cake so you can wrap a ribbon around it? How many inches of ribbon would you need for a cake that is 10 inches in diameter?
• How do you convert liquid measurements to pounds and ounces?
• What ratio does this grain recipe use by volume: 1 cup of oats, 2 cups of water? Now convert to weight and what is that ratio?
• What is the weight of a half cup of water compared to a half cup of flour? Why are they different?
• Explain the measurements of teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, ounces, and pounds.

My journey as a mom teaching math in the kitchen began with this Warthogs in the Kitchen Book.It is funny and silly book and a great way to introduce kids to math. And it can be a theme in your kitchen, too.

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII discovered her love of cooking at her grandmother's side, stirring raisin oatmeal on a Saturday morning. By 15 she had her first food service job. At 18 she was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, where she graduated second in her class, then went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland to study pastry arts and baking. A decade with Hyatt Hotels followed before she founded Food and Health Communications with a single conviction: food that is good for you should taste extraordinary.

Judy holds a Master of Professional Studies in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University (Summa Cum Laude), two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and the CIA's Pro Chef II certification. She has earned the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year award.

Today she develops every recipe on this site, shoots and styles food through her food photography and motion studio, and publishes nutrition education materials for dietitians, schools, extension offices, and health professionals through nutritioneducationstore.com. She uses the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to drive her creativity — whether that means a new twist on fajitas or Italian brownies made with toasted nuts and cooked honey. Her mission has never changed: help everyone make food that tastes as good as it is for them.

https://nutritioneducationstore.com