Baking + Copywork: A New Rhythm for Our Homeschool

This year, we’re trying something new in our homeschool: Baking + Copywork.

My kids love to cook and bake—but if I’m being honest, it hasn’t always been peaceful. Usually, someone ends up frustrated because they didn’t get to crack the eggs or stir in the sugar. Instead of enjoying the process, I found myself refereeing fights over who got to dump in the flour.

So I decided to problem-solve the pain points.

Instead of all of us making one batch of cookies together, this year we’re migrating to the table, each child with their own bowl, mixing spoon, and set of measuring cups. (Thank you, Dollar Store!)

For most recipes, I’ll double the ingredients and then let each child make their own ¼ batch. That way, they still get the full experience of baking—measuring, mixing, shaping—and ownership over the results.

We’ll start small, with thumbprint cookies, and then work our way up to more complex bakes like pretzels, bread, and even fresh pasta.

And here’s the part I’m most excited about: the coziness doesn’t end after the baking.

Once our creations come out of the oven, we’ll gather for what the Swedes call fika: a daily pause to enjoy coffee or tea with something sweet, but more than that—a ritual of slowing down, savoring, and being present together. For us, fika will mean sitting down with fresh-baked treats, a steaming pot of tea, and our copywork, free writing, or poetry teatime. (If you did my Nordic Christmas School Guide, you are well rehearsed in practicing fika!)

We’ll rotate those writing activities on what I call our “Tea Time Loop”.

And because baking and art days require extra prep and cleanup, I’ve made another simple decision this year: we’ll skip Morning Basket on those days. This gives us more space to slow down, focus on the activity at hand, and truly enjoy the experience—because that’s the purpose of including them in the first place.

The goal is simple: to make learning delightful and to let my children connect the joy of creating with their hands to the joy of creating with words. Plus, they’ll be building life skills—measuring, kneading, waiting for dough to rise—all while learning that work and play can intertwine.

Here’s the order I’m planning to follow, building skills step by step:

1. Thumbprint cookies

2. Chocolate chip cookies

3. Muffins

4. Quick breads (banana bread, zucchini bread)

5. Biscuits or scones

6. Soft pretzels

7. Pizza dough

8. Cinnamon rolls

9. Loaf of yeast bread

10. Dinner rolls

11. Homemade pasta

Are you looking for more ways to create a cozy and connected homeschool? Check out my Bookish Adventure guides that are great for all ages to get you started!