Bake Some Words!

A classic approach to handwriting is to stick a kid at a desk and require lots of paper-and-pencil practice.  But for many kids, an even more effective approach is to engage the whole body through activities like spraying shaving cream onto a table and tracing big letters one at a time.  We say, why not cookie dough? Take writing practice to the kitchen and bake up some words!

Materials:
Cookie dough
1-cup flour
Cookie baking sheet
Rolling pin (or plastic cup)
Sprinkles (optional)
Lined paper
Pencil

Directions:
Step 1:  Start by having your child write a few key letters onto lined paper.  Pick ones that you know your child may struggle with sometimes, such as “d” and “b,” or “m” and “n.”  Watch to make sure your child writes correctly. The general rule is to “start at the top”; the letter "O," for example, is made by starting at the top line and moving the pencil in a counter clockwise direction. Lower case letters should always begin at the middle dotted line (unless it is letters "b, d, f, h, k, l, or t").

Step 2: Get out the cookie dough!  You can either use store bought dough, or make your own from scratch, using the recipe below. Either way, once you have it out on your work surface, explain to your child that you’re going to practice writing and spelling by baking letters and words.

Help your child spread a small amount of flour onto the cookie sheet. She can use the rolling pin (sprinkled with a little bit of flour) to roll out some sugar cookie dough. (You will probably need to do a few rounds of this as there will be too much dough to fit onto the baking sheet at once.)

Step 3: Have your child practice writing letters or spelling words by pressing into the cookie dough with one index finger. Word families are great for this activity. For example, have your child write “cat”, then ask her, “What would you have to do to change that words to bat?” And then, “How do you think you’d spell rat, then?” If she doesn’t like drawing with her finger, your kid can use the end of a chopstick to trace out the letters.  Give her plenty of time, and encourage experimentation. After all, if a word doesn’t come out right the first time, your child just needs to squish it and trace again! 

Step 4: When you’re done practicing, put the dough onto the cookie sheet and bake it according to the recipe directions. (Usually oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes).

Basic Cookie Recipe
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl and set it aside.
2. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and the vanilla and then gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
3. When you’re done writing with your dough, put your “tablet” onto the baking sheet and bake it for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let it stand on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving it to a wire rack to cool.


There's almost always dough left over.  Don’t forget to put some away for a rainy day! Most cookie dough freezes very well. So put it in a container or wrap it in plastic wrap and take it out again the next time you want to have a great time baking. Sure those cookies taste yummy right out to of the oven, but you’ll also be doing something else delicious--- supporting handwriting and spelling skills that can last a lifetime.