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Has anyone had their kids take cooking classes at Sur La Table? There is an option over the summer for my daughter to take classes for a week for 8 - 12 year olds.
If not there, have you done so elsewhere and if so where and was it worth the money?
Don't know about Sur La Table specifically, but our oldest had her 9th birthday party at a local establishment that offers classes and she and her friends had a blast. They planned out the menu and made pasta, salad and a dessert.
Per her own request, my 6 year old is going to do a week long day camp there this summer. I don't know if a 3 hour class for 4 days is getting me as much bang for my buck compared to similarly priced other full day week long camps I'm sending her to, but I know she'll enjoy it.
I think it sounds like a great idea, especially if it's something your daughter is interested in. I suspect for kids your daughter's age, they'll spend time on knife skills etc and she could potentially learn a lot.
My 9 1/2 year old is doing 2 weeks of cooking camp this year. She did 1 week last year and loved it. They made so many things, not just one dish. Each week is a different theme for the food. Everything sells out quickly so we didn't even have a chance getting into the Italian week.
I was hoping it would help teach how to use the knives properly and how to use some of the other things you always use in a kitchen, but it wasn't that. They got straight to cooking. Everyone got a turn at different things. It has made her try foods she wouldn't normally try.
It feeds her so I don't have to worry about snacks and lunch being packed on those days, but otherwise the value is ok, it's $215 a week for a 4 day week for 9:30-12:30.
Sur La Table has confident cooking for kids (8-12) 250 for the week -I'm not sure if the classes are 2 or 3 hours each -my daughter is very interested in cooking and is obsessed with kids cooking shows so I think it will be worth it. I was just wondering what other people had experienced with their kids and if it is worth the money (sounds like it is)
I never signed my sons up for cooking classes, but they had to take a semester of Home Ec in middle school, and they both really enjoyed the cooking lessons. I would certainly consider it if the interest is there.
My kids haven't taken classes or Home Ec, but I let them cook what they want in my kitchen. With cooking, you learn as much from your mistakes as you do from your successes. If one of them wanted to learn something specialized that I couldn't teach them and we couldn't learn online together, I'd send them to a class, but for basic stuff, $250 would buy a lot of ingredients for them to practice with.
My kids haven't taken classes or Home Ec, but I let them cook what they want in my kitchen. With cooking, you learn as much from your mistakes as you do from your successes. If one of them wanted to learn something specialized that I couldn't teach them and we couldn't learn online together, I'd send them to a class, but for basic stuff, $250 would buy a lot of ingredients for them to practice with.
But buying ingredients and supervising them in the kitchen for hours on ends doesn't get them out of the house so people, like me, who have to work over the Summer (and work from home), can get things done.
It's not that I can't teach my kids to cook, as I've taught them many things, but the cooking class gets them out of their comfort zone with professionals and helps them come up with different ideas of how to mix and match ingredients, and they try foods they never would have tried before because they made it themselves.
But most of all, it allows me to work as not everyone has the luxury of just letting their kiddos hang out with them all Summer.
But buying ingredients and supervising them in the kitchen for hours on ends doesn't get them out of the house so people, like me, who have to work over the Summer (and work from home), can get things done.
It's not that I can't teach my kids to cook, as I've taught them many things, but the cooking class gets them out of their comfort zone with professionals and helps them come up with different ideas of how to mix and match ingredients, and they try foods they never would have tried before because they made it themselves.
But most of all, it allows me to work as not everyone has the luxury of just letting their kiddos hang out with them all Summer.
I don't supervise my kids in the kitchen. I did when they were 5 or 6, but my youngest is 11 now and she can cook a whole meal without any supervision.
Paying $200 for 12 hours of camp is expensive if someone is just doing it to get the kids out of the house.
There's a trick to getting work done when your kids are home. When they come to tell you they're bored or to tattle on a sibling, give them a chore to do. Pretty soon they learn to solve their own disputes and find ways to entertain themselves. My kids are home year-round so I've had a few years to perfect my strategy.
Has anyone had their kids take cooking classes at Sur La Table? There is an option over the summer for my daughter to take classes for a week for 8 - 12 year olds.
If not there, have you done so elsewhere and if so where and was it worth the money?
This sounds like a great idea, but 8 seems a little too young. I would think one would want to make sure it wasn't mere entertainment, but that the kids would learn skills they could apply at home. If they're too young, they might just take it all as a lark. I also think mixing 8 or 9-year-olds with 12-year-olds wouldn't work. Are the classes divided up into smaller age peer groups?
This sounds like a great idea, but 8 seems a little too young. I would think one would want to make sure it wasn't mere entertainment, but that the kids would learn skills they could apply at home. If they're too young, they might just take it all as a lark. I also think mixing 8 or 9-year-olds with 12-year-olds wouldn't work. Are the classes divided up into smaller age peer groups?
Why is it that people think mixed age groupings are not a good idea? When I was growing up, we played with kids from age 4 to age 12 outside in the yard or in the park and no one thought we should divide up into groups by age. ImNsho, mixed age groupings actually teach kids to problem solve and learn from each other. We are too age-stratefied as a society, so a few mixed age classes are a good thing.
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