This is the look of a girl who is confident in the kitchen.
WHY is Maggie so confident in the kitchen, you ask?
Peekadoodle Cooking Classes.
I joked when I signed her up for her first class that I want to train my kids to be amazing chefs so that by age 10 they can do all the family cooking. She was 2, and it seemed like a great extracurricular. Before the session even ended, I signed her up for another class... then another. Many many bus rides and beautiful walks around Ghiradelli square later, I'm finally writing about it... and based on how much and how often Maggie wants to cook with me, I'm actually starting to think my jokes may come true!
Let me tell you about this place...
Peekadoodle's location is IN Ghiradelli Square. Feels like a postcard. I love fresh air, and spent so much of my time during her classes taking walks around municipal pier, enjoying the waterfront and quiet foggy mornings in a peaceful neighborhood. I would buzz to get into Peekadoodle, drop Maggie with her adorable cooking teacher, then grab a cup of hot coffee in the Peekadoodle cafe... which I actually enjoyed HOT. What? I know. Normally my cups of coffee are lukewarm (or I just throw ice cubes in and embrace the cold coffee) because I'm chasing my kids and hustlin' around home or around the city. Peekadoodle gave me a moment every week to breathe and relax.
Tiny Jack!
Jack was tiny during Maggie's most recent session, so he sometimes would sleep and sometimes would look around and want to play in the section devoted to babies. Toddlers stayed on their side of the play structures, and babies safely can maneuver and scoot around their play area. Any tasted toys get put in a bucket and cleaned regularly, so we could be assured that babies are avoiding extra germs.
...Back to Peekadoodle cooking classes. I had all the perks of coffee and wifi and leisure, and calm times with Jack, but I promise-- Peekadoodle was more about Maggie. ;)
Maggie currently knows how to safely chop, how to mix without the mixtures flying out of the bowl, how to crack an egg (without any shells), and most importantly, she understands how delicious healthy recipes can be. All because of her classes.
The kids start class by washing their hands, putting their tiny adorable aprons on, and sitting down to prep their food. This is the bulk of the class time, but all the ingredients are prepped and ready for them, so it doesn't take longer than necessary. Watching the teachers work to teach groups of toddlers and pre-schoolers the basic cooking skills showed me that I can feel confident teaching my own children at home too. A huge aspect of not going totally crazy while doing so is PREP. Teachers have ingredients set aside but measured, and the kids can pour. As they get more experience they get to have more hands-on responsibility.
When the food goes in the oven, the kids have story time and letter practice, and they get to run around (in butterfly wings if they want!) outside.
Can I just tell you (in case the pictures don't speak for themselves): Maggie thrived in her class. She would leave full of chatter and excitement. When we'd go to the grocery store, she would ask me to buy the ingredients from the recipes she made in class to make them for Brian and Sophie too. She could rattle off all the ingredients, AND the order in which she mixed them into her recipe. It's honestly amazing what a 2-4 year old can really soak in, and I am SO glad we invested into this program. She just asked me this week if we can make pear tarts because she made them in class a couple months ago. Kids are like fabulous little sponges.
Peekadoodle's extracurriculars don't start and end with cooking. There is a full pre-school, as well as:
- baby and toddler music classes
- baby sign language
- art labs
- build-it class
- drama-rama class
- imagination station
- and more!
Maggie says you should sign your kids up too! Registration is open for summer camps! WORTH EVERY PENNY. :)
Thank you for YEARS of fun, Peekadoodle!
I'm so grateful to have had Maggie's most recent cooking class comped in exchange for becoming a Peekadoodle Ambassador. All opinions are my own, and I cannot rave enough about this program and this little school.
