Summer Fun Club 10

 I recently read Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman.  And since I'll probably never get around to writing a proper review, I'll give my two-cent version here.  I liked it.  It was a good, and fun, read - don't know when I last, if ever, actually finished a parenting book, but this was like half-memoir, part parenting, part cultural study.  I at times felt self-conscious, but never actually bad, about my own parenting, so that helped me get through.  It certainly gave me some food for thought, and I found bits of wisdom here and there that I would like to adopt and integrate into our own admittedly-American family.  In particular, back freaking off and give the kids some autonomy.  Sage, indeed!

So that's what we did for Summer Fun Club one day last week.  Ginger was on a special trip with Ed, so it was just us three girls.  In Bébé, Druckerman tells how French families seem to bake together every weekend, and how French children can bake many things on their own, particularly a Gâteau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake.)  Hmpf.  Not to be outdone by any Frenchie dans la cuisine, and already a little ashamed that I haven't taught my girls more about baking, I decided my 7-year-old can absolutment make a cake that apparently any French 3-year-old can whip up.


I helped by laying out ingredients and equipment, and offering tips as we went, but Hazel made this cake entirely, from start to finish, by herself, with a little "help" from Poppy.

Yogurt

Eggs - she's so careful with the shells!

Sugar

Vanilla

 

Oil

 

Flour

Baking Powder

Add dry ingredients

Chocolate Chips

Licking

Clean up

See this post for the full recipe and pictures of the finished Gâteau!