A passion turned into a business

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.

(In 2018, before we had aprons with logos)

My son had a learning tower in the kitchen and he and I would bake box-mix brownies or something else simple as a learning activity just about every day. Around that same time, I was looking for a summer camp for him to attend in our area and found nothing available for three year olds.

(In 2021, when I made him wear the shirt)

That's when I decided to make our own summer camp focused on baking with kids, since I was already doing that anyway! I invited some of his little 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 fall Itty Bitty Bakers was born! Now, with the addition of many wonderful teachers there have been over 1000 kids in the Birmingham area who have taken baking classes. We've added more camps, school field trips, and even a Christmas bake off to enhance the culinary learning of kids in our area.

(In 2022, giddy about camp launch day)

Ironically, I am not a baker by trade. I'm a dietitian! I worked for many years as a Clinical Dietitian in both inpatient and outpatient care before moving to the corporate side 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 learn to bake with us soon! To view what we have coming up, click here. If you have any questions about Itty Bitty Bakers, feel free to contact me at ittybittybkrs@gmail.com.

Happy Baking!

❤️Jessica