Summer School: Food Camp

 At the girls' request, I planned a "food camp" for this summer. They wanted to learn about different types of food, as well as practice some cooking and baking skills. Here are the books we read:

The Only Way to Make Bread, by Christina Quintero
Bee-Bim-Bop, by Linda Sue Park
Whole-y Cow! Fractions are Fun, by Taryn Souders
Emeka, Eat Egusi! by Candice Iloh
Are You What You Eat? DK Smithsonian
Bake, Make, & Learn to Cook, by David Atherton
Full House: An Invitation to Fractions, by Dayle Ann Dodds
Good Enough to Eat, by Lizzy Rockwell
All Food is Good Food, by Molli Jackson Ehlert
Bilal Cooks Daal, by Aisha Saeed
Soul Food Sunday, by Winsome Bingham
Fry Bread, by Kevin Noble Maillard
Starting From Scratch: What You Should Know about Food and Cooking, by Sarah Elton
Tasty Reactions: The Chemistry of Food, by Joseph D. Cataliotti
How Does Our Food Grow? by Brooke Jorden
Platanos Go With Everything, by Lisette Norman

We started food camp by learning about fractions, since they are so important for knowing how to measure accurately. Dad 3D printed this fraction puzzle for us, which was a great visual and tactile learning tool.

We also created our own fraction puzzles.

And of course, we got into the kitchen and played with measuring cups and spoons. This was a fun way for the girls to explore how certain measurements fit into other ones (i.e. it takes four 1/4 cups to make 1 cup). 

The girls have also been wanting some increased independence in preparing their own lunches, specifically with meals besides sandwiches or cheese and crackers. So we bought some freezer items, such and chicken nuggets and personal pizzas, and learned how to safely heat things up using the toaster oven. This was a great way to learn about kitchen safety!

We also talked about nutrition, focusing on different food groups and what they provide for our body. The girls created this lunch menu chart, dividing the options into different food groups. We hung it on the fridge, so that when they aren't sure what to make for lunch, there are some options for inspiration.

Food camp was also a great opportunity to get out into the garden, and make some garden-to-table snacks. 

We tried a new food called scarpaccia, which is an Italian flatbread made out of zucchini. We watched this video to learn how to make it. It turned out great!

We also visited the Hershey Story Museum, which gave us a fun overview of the history of Hershey Chocolate.