I first had the idea for kids baking classes in the spring of 2018 when my son was three years old. At the time, I was reading books about the Montessori approach to child development which touts the benefits of teaching kids hands-on, practical life skills.
My son had a learning tower in the kitchen and he and I would make a recipe as a learning activity just about every day. Around that same time, I was looking for a summer camp for him to attend and found nothing available for three year olds in our area of Birmingham, AL.
That's when I decided to do my own summer camp focused on baking with kids, since I was already doing that anyway. I invited some of his friends and neighborhood kids to come to my baking camp and they loved it. After it was over, people would ask me when I was doing it again (something I hadn't really considered doing!).
After much deliberation - and a few deep breaths from my husband - later that year, Itty Bitty Bakers was born! Now, with the addition of many wonderful teachers, we've added more classes, camps, school field trips, and even a Christmas bake off to enhance the culinary learning of kids in our area.
Ironically, I am not a baker by trade. I'm a dietitian! I worked for many years in both clinical care before moving to the corporate world as a wellness analyst for BCBS-AL.
That is a far cry from baking with kids! Yet it gave me a lot of experience in both teaching and business. Now, I stay connected to the field of dietetics as a preceptor for the University of Alabama and Samford University dietetic internships. It is a joy to train up-and-coming dietitians and give them experiences teaching kids to bake. It is so much fun!
I hope your child will come bake with us soon! For upcoming offerings, View our Classes page. If you have any questions, please Get in Touch. We'd love to hear from you.
Happy Baking!
❤️Jessica
ps: Here is a peek inside a baking camp I taught in 2022. I love this theme!