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*Safety Check-In: The activities in this curriculum are intended for family-style use under direct adult supervision. Because every family’s home environment and children are unique, please use your best judgment to ensure a safe experience. Always verify materials—such as plants, food items, or chemicals—for safety and allergies before use, and keep heat sources, tools, and small parts under close adult watch. You know your children best; please adapt these activities as needed to ensure they are age-appropriate and safe for your specific family.
Looking for a playful, hands-on baking activity that your whole homeschool family can enjoy together? These fun, beach-themed bagel inner tubes fit perfectly into an ocean or summer unit while offering meaningful learning across science and STEM. Younger children can help measure, mix, shape, and boil their edible floaties, while elementary and middle school learners explore cell walls, structural support, and yeast metabolism. Gather your ingredients and turn a classic baking project into a creative, multi-age homeschool experience.
Full Lesson Plans
Measurement in Baking & Cooking STEM Activity
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An activity-based learning extension exploring:
- baking & cooking with volume vs. weight
- american vs. metric measurement systems
- simple conversions & baking accuracy
- tie-ins to baking activities
Yearlong Sourdough Science Curriculum Bundle
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An activity-based learning extension exploring:
- cells & their processes
- prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells; types & examples
- cell parts, organelles, & parts of a nucleus
- cell parts related to sourdough
- tie-ins to the activity
In addition to the typical lesson plan, this 12 month inclusive plan includes sourdough tips, tricks, and notes, basic sourdough baking vocabulary explanations, themed plating ideas, and cozy recipe cards.
One Full Unit Study Lesson + 12 Monthly Themed Recipes
Begin any month, and choose the rhythm that fits your family best:
- The Year-Long Journey: Take it slow by spreading the core lesson out across the entire year, pairing it step-by-step with your monthly bakes.
- The Monthly Connection: Introduce the main concepts right away, then use each monthly recipe as a gentle review to help those big ideas settle in.
- The All-In-One Kickoff: Start with the complete core lesson in month one, and enjoy themed recipes as fun, ongoing practice all year.
Click here to see what’s included and how family-style learning works with our lessons.
What’s Included
Our curriculum is designed to foster genuine critical thinking through intentional lesson layout: a foundational introduction to core concepts, hands-on activities and play-based learning that puts ideas into practice, and a reflective discussion to synthesize the learning. Depending on the subject, features may include:
- direct connections to the featured activities
- new information & concepts
- visual charts
- practice pages with answer keys
- observation and design pages
- naturally integrated vocabulary
- warm and memorable images
- scaffolded learning
- connections to living books & stories
- higher-order discussion questions
- immersive and play-based learning experiences
- social studies units often include positive affirmations combined with play-based bilateral stimulation
Family Style Learning
Our activities are intentionally designed to grow with your family. Lessons are designed for elementary and middle school students, but toddlers and preschoolers thrive using the exact same setups, learning through play. Because learning goals develop in complexity over time, you get more bang for your buck—utilizing the exact same supplies across all ages and through many years.
How activities are used by age:
- Infancy & Toddlerhood: Focuses on hands-on sensory and play-based exploration (touching, feeling, experiencing).
- Preschool & Pre-K: Develops language, basic concepts, and descriptive vocabulary using the same activities.
- Elementary & Beyond: Expands play and sensory based activities into formal lessons with deep conceptual understanding.
Through direct sensory experience, younger children will naturally absorb basic vocabulary and be exposed to advanced language and learning alongside their older siblings.
Materials & How To
Click here for materials and setup directions.
Materials:
General:
- kitchen scale (digital, measuring lbs, ounces, and grams)
- measuring cups & spoons (including a glass measuring cup, showing ounces & cups)
- large mixing bowl
- stand mixer with dough hook or sturdy mixing spoon
- damp tea towel
- clean counter or work surface
- bench scraper or sharp knife
- large pot
- slotted spoon
- baking sheet
- baking paper
- oven mitts
- cooling rack
- serving plate
- small bowl
- spoon or spreader
Dough Ingredients:
- ½ c sourdough starter (100 grams)
- 1 c water (236 grams)
- 2 T honey (42 grams)
- 2 t salt (10 grams)
- 4 c unbleached all-purpose flour (500 grams)
Boiling Water Ingredients:
- 8 c water (64 fl oz/1,893 grams)
- 1 T baking soda (14 grams)
- 1 T brown sugar (13 grams)
Optional Ingredients:
- Cream cheese
- Blue food coloring
- Teddy Grahams
How To:
Sourdough Bagel Recipe:
- Combine the sourdough starter, water, honey, salt, and flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Knead the dough on low speed for 10 minutes. The dough should be very stiff.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let the dough rest for 8–12 hours.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a ball and flatten it slightly.
- Poke a hole through the center of each piece with your finger.
- Stretch the hole with two fingers until it is about 3 inches wide.
- Cover the shaped bagels with a damp tea towel and let them rise until puffy, about 2–4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Add the water, baking soda, and brown sugar to a large pot and bring it to a boil.
- Carefully lower the bagels into the boiling water.
- Boil for 1 minute, flip, and boil for another minute.
- Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and let the excess water drip off.
- Place the bagels on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden on top.
- Transfer the bagels to a cooling rack.
Serving Presentation:
Mix cream cheese with a small amount of blue food coloring. Spread the blue cream cheese in a ring around the center of a serving plate to resemble water. Place a bagel on top of the cream cheese. Set a Teddy Graham upright in the center hole so its head and arms peek out. Enjoy the Teddy Graham as a treat.
Find our full lesson plans above for more guidance and depth of learning.
Additional Learning Resources
Click here for additional resources, activities, & lessons.
More Lessons & Activities
- Full Lesson Plans: Browse our available full homeschool lesson plans in every collection.
- Beach & Bodies of Water: Explore related themed activities here.
- June Themes: Discover our June page for more activities in this collection.
- Themed Learning Extras: immerse yourself in our curated resources through music & meditations, read alouds & picture books, movie night picks, and additional free curriculum.
- The Year Ahead: Visit our Monthly Collections to get ready for upcoming learning.
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