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Kids' Chocolate Activity for Education
or Homeschool
Fun and Educational For Kids!
By Cheryl Sandberg
Candy making isn't just for adults. Have your child join in the fun!
Just about every recipe at An Occasional Chocolate, your child can
make, too! Use Guittard
molding chocolate to help kids learn math using measuring
skills, time skills, and more. Also see the article
by Karen Clark, our child specialist, and her thoughts about
using chocolate for education!
"Love your chocolate and I love the fun for kids' stuff. Love all these cute ideas on here!" - Kristi W
Tactile
learning can be so helpful in learning to write.
Use the chocolate painter squeeze bottle and add some
melted chocolate. Lay
out some waxed paper.
 For
young children, ask them to make circles, squares, and triangles
or a good ol' happy face!
Older children can
practice their ABCs
or their cursive writing.
 Teenagers
will also have fun with their art.
This is a great way to link the
creative side
of our mind to the more practical.
Place finished art in the
refrigerator.
Within 15 minutes you will have beautiful, tempting chocolate art
to eat!
Other Recipe Ideas -
An
easy truffle recipe that even a kid can do!
Dipping Chocolate
Kids dipping strawberries!
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Ingredients
a microwave-safe bowl
a spoon
cookie sheet
waxed paper
1 cup milk chocolate (6 oz.)
fruit, marshmallows, pretzels, or other food for dipping
Prepare the food for dipping. If you are
using fruit, make sure it is completely dry before
dipping, or the
chocolate will not stick!
Directions
1. Line the cookie sheet with waxed
paper.
2. Put one cup of chocolate into the microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for one minute.
Remove from the microwave and stir. Place bowl back into the microwave
and cook for 20 more seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir.
Continue with this process until the chocolate is
completely melted.
3. Take the pieces of fruit, pretzels, or other food and partially dip into the chocolate.
Place onto the
waxed paper.
4. Place the cookie sheet
full of dipped items in the refrigerator
for one hour until the chocolate has cooled. Then peel away the
waxed paper. Enjoy!
Note to adults: Please
supervise children
using the microwave. Help them stir the melted chocolate. Test to
ensure that the chocolate isn't too hot. From
Chocolate USA.org
 Old
Fashioned S'mores
with a Twist
Place a marshmallow on a sucker
stick. Melt chocolate and dip marshmallow into the chocolate.
Before it dries roll it in some graham cracker bits. S'mores on
a stick, just like camping!
Did you know?
By Karen Clark, Child Specialist, Teacher and Owner of MyBusinessPresence.com
A chocolate candy making activity provides a child with a number of valuable concepts:
- The children learn natural sequencing – What comes first? Then what?
- They also learn to understand the process of following a project from beginning to end – to the final product.
- Cooking is an exercise in elementary chemistry. What happens when the chocolate is heated? What happens when another ingredient is added? What happens when it cools?
- Children learn the importance of following directions.
- When a child completes an assigned task, he has a sense of accomplishment!
- In a group project, a child learns to take turns, pay attention, and show respect to other participants.
Some enrichment ideas:
- Have the children listen to or read all the directions first, then “whisper share” them with someone else. Write or draw them out, and finally, say them out loud as they complete the tasks. Children retain information better when they use multiple modalities such as listening, speaking, seeing, and doing.
- Make up a song to sing while completing each step. For example: “This is the way we melt the chocolate, melt the chocolate, melt the chocolate. This is the way we melt the chocolate, so early in the evening. This is the way we dip the cookies, dip the cookies...” etc. Putting concepts to music is another way to help children learn.
- Have children write or draw predictions of what their creation will be like when it is ready to eat. Have them use adjectives that describe how it will look, feel, smell, and taste.
- Make a sequencing map of what they did to create their candy. Fold a sheet of paper so there are 4-8 rectangles and label them with 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. For younger kids, have them draw what they did first, next, and finally. Older children can write sentences in each rectangle accompanied by drawings. Have them include lots of details starting with hand-washing and preparing materials right through to eating or giving their creation away!
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