5 Best Baking Camp Ideas for At Home and In Person
When you think about kids baking camp. You might be drawn to think about all of the network shows that feature kids baking.
That’s right, you might be thinking of the Food Network or a baking championship. In these shows, you might often see a child or teen whipping up a recipe as if they were a trained and experience restaurant chef.
Kids are very inspired when they see these “reality” shows featuring other kids. Moreover, it’s great to see how empowered kids can by when they have creative liberty in the kitchen. Additionally, not only do they bake and create amazing and delectable treats, but their creations are also judged by experienced chefs.
That said, here’s what you have to remember... it’s television. Everything may not appear is it actually happened. There can definitely be injuries, timing issues, and breaks in between.
So if you child is inspired, that is fantastic. Just be sure to let them know the realistic expectations of cooking – being patient, being careful, and cleaning up (just to name a few).
At my cooking school, I often reminded kids that we were not going to be “running” around with hot pots and pans like they do on the cooking competitions on television.
There are so many benefits to baking camp for kids. Baking camps help the young budding chefs to become very confident in the kitchen. They can lean into that confidence when they learn other new life skill tasks as well.
In this post we cover 5 baking camp ideas for you and/or your child.
1. Local Baking Camps
2. D.I.Y. Baking Camp at Home – Get the Guide
3. Baking Subscription Boxes
4. Virtual Baking Camps
5. Online Baking Courses for Kids
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Local Baking Camps – Leveraging Local Chefs to Teach Your Kids How to Bake
Finding a Baking Camp Near Me
If you live near a larger city, you may be lucky enough to have some great baking camp options in you local area. Many chefs and home bakers enjoy teaching the future generation their skills. Before you get started with your journey to find a local baking camp, you might want to keep a few things in mind. Also, at the end of this post, you can find 5 Tips for Selecting the Right Baking Camp for Your Kids.
Group Baking Versus One-on-One
Baking camps are generally a few hours per day where the youth will work in small groups. Moreover, they will work as a team to learn and practice a variety of baking skills. It’s important to know what to expect as far as the type of teaching style that the camp will have.
Baking Camp Locations
In the U.S. there are baking camps including along with other types of camps at both local kids cooking schools and also franchised kids cooking schools. Here are a few locations that you can check to see if they have a location near you:
Franchises
These franchises below have several locations; however, there may be a local facility near you as well.
Reach Out to Local Universities, Colleges, or Trade Schools
Some local education programs may offer youth summer baking camps and/or cooking programs. These programs often give their program students to educate children on different techniques that they have learned.
Programs at Local Bakeries and Restaurants
Some local bakeries and restaurants may offer short baking or cooking camps to children and teens. These programs would most likely take place during an off-peak season and off-peak hours.
DIY Baking Camp - Hosting Your Own Program
What a great way to have some baking fun – hosting your own baking camp.
Kids Baking Camp Guide
You can find a kids baking e-guide curated based on my cooking school’s baking program. A baking camp or baking program can be something that you can do with your kids right in your own home.
If the thought of baking with your kids is a little daunting to you, think about pairing up with other parents to help each other.
The guide can be used for any variety of formats from home school to church programs. It’s just a great way to have some easy ideas to create with kids (and also much more affordable.)
If you work during the week, make it a weekend program or a one day workshop.
Baking Camp at Home with a Baking Subscription Box
What is a baking subscription box?
A baking box makes it easy to open and get started in the kitchen. The box contains pre-measured dry ingredients, recipe cards, and a cooking related extra item inside.
When your box arrives at your doorstep, all you have to do is open it and get started. Of course, you will also have to make sure that you any wet ingredients that may be needed as well, such as milk or eggs.
Try out a baking subscription box!
Baketivity has a subscription box and if you use code BAKE10 you will save an additional 10% off Kids Baking Subscription Box.
You can always see if a kit is the right fit for your family by ordering just a single box kit before a subscription.
Virtual Baking Camps at Home
One of the most popular options if you want an instructed baking camp is a virtual baking camp at home.
Not only is this relatively affordable, but also it makes sense logistically for a lot of people. In other words, if you don’t have any baking programs near you, virtual classes are available where ever you are (as long as internet is available to you).
Virtual baking camps can be found through a variety of online resources, however, Kids Cook Real Food is geared toward kids specifically. The Kids Cook Real Food programs are easy to follow classes and taught by a teacher that has a great way of relating to kids.
Watch this quick video to learn more about Teach Kids How to Cook.
Online Baking Courses for Parents and Kids
Similar to a virtual cooking camp, you can also find course programs. These programs may be more intensive than a camp. Courses can also be taken at your own pace depending on the program. This might be a fun way to incorporate cooking on the weekends or when you have free time with the kids.
How about this – An added benefit of practicing cooking at home through these course is that you get to sample what you make!
Kids Eat Real Food, as mentioned above, has course style offerings as well.
5 Tips for Selecting the Right Baking Camp For YOur Kids
Tip #1 Look at the Age Range
Check the age range of the camp. Does it fit the ages of your children? Some camps may be more appropriate for younger children, and some camps may be more of a teen skill level.
Tip #2 Readiness of Your Child
Your child may be interested in decorating cupcakes, baking cookies, or baking casseroles. Deciding what peaks your child’s interest along with the skill set that is appropriate for them to learn is important to think about ahead of time.
Tip #3 Best Learning Environment
Think about the best learning environment for your child. Which type suits your child best: at home learning, individual learning, virtual learning, or in person learning.
Tip #4 Baking Tools Accessible to You
If you are planning to take a virtual class or have a D.I.Y. style baking camp at home, evaluate what equipment and baking tools you have accessible to You. Gather your tools ahead of time after reviewing the recipes that you will prepare. You can find a list of Best Baking Tools for Beginners in this post.
Tip #5 Location Accessibility for Your Class – Virtual vs. In Person
Location may make this one a no-brainer. Evaluate the location of an in person class – will you be spending a lot of money on transportation or a place to stay? or Do you have family members that you can visit while visiting a city with an in person class. Of course, in person is a lot of fun. However, this is the beauty of the virtual option. It is there if you need it regardless of your location.
Best Options for Baking with Kids
Now that you have lots of information to help you decide on the Baking Camp of your child’s dreams, it’s time to recap what we have covered.
We talked about all of the possibilities for learning all about baking. Accessing local facilities that may offer baking classes and camps along with local university programs.
Additionally, there are other options for baking at home with kids. These are ordering a subscription box, taking a virtual class, or streaming a course on cooking or baking for kids.
Finally, we covered tips on deciding which is the best option for baking camps, courses, or class for you and your family. Ultimately, it comes down to the right fit for you along with accessibility of the class.
Just a reminder, you can find out more about our Baking Camp Guide that we have created for families, groups, and programs that we used at our cooking school for kids baking camp.
Hope that you have a blast baking together or that your child has a great time learning at their baking camp.
