If you’ve ever asked the question “when am I going to use this in real life?” about math, you’re not alone. Thankfully there are several practical applications for the subject most of us spent at least 12 years studying. One of my favorites is in cooking, and with Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, we wanted to show a fun way kids can be involved in using their math skills to help prepare for dinner. Since I was 10, it’s been my Thanksgiving dinner responsibility to prepare the stuffing. It’s fun, easy, and doesn’t take very long, so it’s perfect for helping kids experience math in action.
Today, I picked up some stuffing and butter from the store…
and carefully measured out the water and butter I needed. There’s the math.
I put them in the pan and put it on the stove to bring it to a boil.
Then I stirred the butter and water as it heated up, waiting for the butter to melt.
After it melted, I stirred it more as I waited for the water to boil.
When the water was boiling, I opened the stuffing packet…
and then poured it into the boiling water and butter.
I stirred it all together, making sure all of the stuffing mix got to absorb some liquid.
Then I turned off the burner, moved the pan off the heat, and covered it for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, I took the lid off, and fluffed it with a fork.
Voila! Stuffing.
It’s a fun easy thing to cook, and it takes a little bit of math (and science!) and it tastes great, too!
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Utah County!