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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 to bake something cozy and seasonal that your whole family can enjoy together? This family-style pumpkin-shaped and flavored sourdough bread offers a wonderful, hands-on kitchen project for all ages. Toddlers and younger children can join in the fun by helping shape the dough and tie the twine, while elementary and middle school students dive deeper into the science of sourdough cells. Gather your ingredients and turn your kitchen into a festive autumn bakery. Gather your supplies and enjoy a wonderful, hands-on baking adventure together.
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
- whisk
- mixing spoon or dough whisk
- damp tea towel
- clean counter or work surface
- baking paper
- food-safe kitchen string
- small bowl of water
- kitchen scissors
- bread lame or sharp knife
- dutch oven with lid
- oven mitts
- cooling rack
Ingredients:
- 1¼ c warm water (295 grams)
- ½ c sourdough starter (100 grams)
- 1 t salt (7 grams)
- ½ c pumpkin purée (130 grams)
- 2 c + 1 T bread flour (250 grams)
- 2 c + 1 T whole wheat flour (250 grams)
- ½ c dried cranberries (70 grams)
- ¼ c raw pepitas or pumpkin seeds (35 grams)
How To:
Halloween Pumpkin Sourdough Loaf Recipe:
- Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
- Whisk together the warm water, sourdough starter, salt, and pumpkin purée until smooth.
- Add the bread flour, whole wheat flour, dried cranberries, and pepitas or pumpkin seeds.
- Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball by pulling each corner toward the center 4 times.
- Return the dough to the bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel.
- Let the dough rest for 2 hours, completing one set of stretch and folds after each hour.
- After the final stretch and fold, cover the dough and let it rest for 3–4 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface.
- Stretch and fold all 4 sides toward the center, then cover it with the damp tea towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it smooth side down in a bowl.
- Let it rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate it overnight.
- Place the Dutch oven inside the oven and preheat to 450°F.
- Soak 4 long pieces of food-safe kitchen string in water.
- Arrange the strings in an asterisk pattern on a sheet of baking paper.
- Turn the dough onto the center of the strings.
- Gently bring each string over the top of the dough and tie it loosely. Trim away the excess string.
- Score the dough with a bread lame or sharp knife in each section between the strings.
- Carefully place the dough and baking paper into the hot Dutch oven.
- Cover and bake at 450°F for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, reduce the oven temperature to 425°F, and bake for another 35–45 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and carefully cut away the strings.
Find our full lesson plans above for more guidance and depth of learning.
Additional Learning Resources
Click here for additional resources, activities, & lessons.
Themed Learning Extras
We love to tie our activities together through immersion. Discover our themed resources to enhance your home learning — including music & meditations, read alouds & picture books, movie night picks, and additional free curriculum below:
Additional Learning Resources – October
More Lessons & Activities
If you are looking for more activities and lessons to add to your home classroom, you can find them here:
- Halloween: Explore our full collection of related lessons here.
- October Themes: Browse our October page for more seasonal & themed activities.
- Plan Ahead: Visit our Monthly Collections to get ready for upcoming learning.
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