We have been taking part in #NationalBakingWeek, which began on Monday. As ever, St Christopher’s is ahead of the game, and pictures of fantastic baking have been coming in to the Newsletter since the event was announced in last week’s edition. Baking stimulates the senses. Nourishing activities make us feel good. Baking is creative by its very nature. Perhaps most importantly, baking makes other people happy about something you have done, which is a great reason for you to feel happy about yourself.
Engaging in any form of cooking with your children is a great way to spend quality time with them and, unless you are following along with a YouTube or TikTok video, wonderfully screen free. Cooking something from scratch lets you have total control over what you are, and indeed aren’t eating, and is a valuable time to talk about nutrition and a healthy diet. There is no shame in Halloween cookies, as long as you are getting your five a day and taking regular exercise!
Cooking can be a valuable aid to mindfulness, a chance to spend time in a completely different mindset, concentrating on the moment. With exams on the horizon for Year 8, we tell them that interspersing revision with different stages of kitchen prep is a great way to have some “time out” from exam preparation. This is just the same as taking the dog for a walk, playing the piano, painting a picture, or going for a run. And there is always room for some overlap; those who picked up some useful tips on mnemonics in Tuesday’s Study Skills workshop could be repeating them whilst peeling potatoes, for example.
This is the last Newsletter before Half Term; I wish you a splendidly spooky Halloween, and we are back just in time for Bonfire Night!
Finally, my best wishes to all in our community celebrating Sukkot this week.
Ms Elizabeth Lyle, Head