Lessons Learned from Dough

There is a lot to learn by the simple act of making, shaping and cooking dough. Especially for little hands and the minds that move them.

Think about the last time you made something from scratch. How did you feel when you were done (assuming it turned out ok)? Satisfied I'm sure just came to mind, or something close to that.

Imagine the impression that would have on a small child.

I know for me at least, that as a parent, I often find myself finishing tasks (or perhaps just doing the whole thing) for my children, assuming it will get done faster and without a mess my way. It dawned on me the other day, that by doing this, I'm pretty much telling my children that they are not capable of completing these tasks on their own. When truly, if given enough time, and the space to make mistakes, they most certainly could do that task in question, and probably a lot more.

Which leads me to dough. Yes, dough.

Making dough is great for all ages, and offers plenty of room for learning at various stages in childhood. Think about it. Measuring out the ingredients will provide simple math and space lessons for preschool kindergarten aged children. For older children, you could have them convert the amounts to double, triple or half the amount to work on multiplication or division. Simple pouring and stirring are great hand eye coordination developers in little children. Kneading and working the dough into it's desired form helps to fine tune small motor skills - something a lot of children seem to be falling behind in during recent years.

The best part, in my mind, is the sense of satisfying accomplishment and the confidence boost your child will likely get from doing this. Knowing they can take a few simple ingredients, mix them together and then create a satisfying snack for themselves is empowering for a small child.

We make soft pretzels. I chose this because it's a simple dough recipe, and only takes about 10 minutes in the oven (but does still require time for the dough to rise - so keep this in mind if you choose to try it. Allow about an hour for rising).

My children loved doing this so much that they have not stopped asking about it, and I have promised to make it a Saturday morning ritual. I'd love to do it daily if we could, but right now that just won't work with our days.

Below is our recipe if you want to try it out. I swear these are soooo good - almost better than that famous pretzel house in the mall ;)

Soft Pretzels

4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp Molasses
1 & 1/4 Cups Warm Water - should not feel hot or cold when placed on your wrist
1/4 C Honey
4-5 Cups Unbleached White Flour
1.5 tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil


1/4 C Baking Soda
3 Cups Hot water

Sea Salt for topping (optional)

1) Dissolve yeast in water and molasses then add the honey and stir well to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes or until it looks frothy.

2) Mix the salt in with the first cup of flour. With a wooden spoon stir in 1 cup of flour at a time until the dough can not handle anymore. This will vary almost every time you bake, so always take the time to do this step.

3) Once you can no longer stir the dough with a spoon, either place it in a stand mixer with a bread hook to knead the dough, or knead by hand - and continue adding a little bit of flour at a time until the dough is no longer sticky, but is still moist enough to hold a solid ball shape.

4) Pour 1 tbsp of oil into a large bowl, and place the dough ball on top of the oil. Flip the dough over a few times to make sure it is coated in the oil. Place a towel over the top of the bowl and put in a warm spot until the dough has risen to twice the original size (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more depending on how warm your dough is kept).

5) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

6) Pull apart small sections of the dough and shape however you like.

7) Once all the shapes have been made, make the baking soda and hot water mixture. Dunk each shape in and then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt if desired.

8) Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

-Lisa :)

Learn to tie shoe laces

My son recently started showing an interest in learning how to tie his own shoe laces (we've only used velcro shoes with him so far). It's going to take a while for him to learn completely, and my poor husband is tired of undoing knots in his tennis shoes, so I came up with this idea. It's really simple and can be taken anywhere to keep little hands busy (long car rides for example).

What you need:

3 sheets of felt in any size as long as 2 sheets are exactly the same
Craft Glue
Hole Punch
Scissors
1 shoelace
Glitter glue (optional - for adding details)

1. Take the 2 sheets of felt that are the same size, and fold one in half lengthwise, and cut along the center fold to produce two long rectangles that are the same size.

2. Place these on top of the other solid sheet, and glue along the outter edges of the sides and bottom (this sort of forms little pockets).

3. Cut the smaller piece to place on top of both sheets at the bottom, to create the toe of the shoe. I trimed down a piece of felt to match the size, and then rounded on of the longer sides. Glue to the desired area.

4. Once dry, use the hole punch to mimic that of the top of a shoe for the laces. I marked each area with a sharpie marker. The hole punch won't cut out a perfect circle, but it will be close, you'll probably have to pry it open each time to get it to open completly. Then trim the hole piece off with a pair of scissor.

5. Lace up the shoe and you're good to go!

Come back again tomorrow for another fun project! :)