WASHINGTON — 鈥淭he dog ate my homework鈥� isn鈥檛 a far-fetched excuse for the students of Ann McCallum.
Neither is, 鈥淚 ate my homework.鈥�
In fact, eating homework 鈥� on all fronts 鈥� is encouraged. That鈥檚 because the Montgomery County teacher says one of the best ways for kids to learn is to occasionally swap the pencil for a fork.
鈥淔ood is universal,鈥� says McCallum, who has taught in Maryland for more than 20 years. 鈥淣o matter where you are in time and space, we鈥檙e all human; we鈥檝e all had food.鈥�
It鈥檚 that mentality that prompted McCallum to write and publish all three of her cookbooks in the 鈥溾�� book series, including 鈥淓at Your Math Homework,鈥� 鈥淓at Your Science Homework鈥� and 鈥淓at Your U.S. History Homework.鈥� And it was a holiday project that started it all.
Several years ago, McCallum decided to disguise a math lesson in a gingerbread house activity. Introducing tubes of icing and boxes of graham crackers seemed like a great way to continue on with classroom material amid seasonal excitement 鈥� and it worked.
鈥淚t kind of sparked something 鈥� the food and the math,鈥� McCallum says. It made her students realize that 鈥渢here鈥檚 more to math than just memorizing things.鈥�
McCallum took her win in the classroom back to her home kitchen and expanded on the idea of combining math lessons with cooking. She developed recipes for dishes such as 鈥渕ultiplication meatballs鈥� and 鈥渧ariable pizza pi,鈥� which she later published in a cookbook format.
鈥淚t really came out of trying to get kids excited about subjects that could be really dull at times. I knew I wanted to get kids to love a subject through food,鈥� she says.
Now, McCallum is out with her third education-focused cookbook, 鈥�,鈥� which connects ancient accounts with savory snacks.
In the book, students can study the relationship between the Native Americans and the pilgrims with a recipe for Thanksgiving succotash, or learn about the hardships of the country鈥檚 first colonists with the historically inspired recipe for cherry berry grunt.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 always easy 鈥� or a bowl of cherries 鈥� It [represents] the ups and slumps of the colonists when they first came,鈥� McCallum says about the cobbler-style dish.
And while the recipes in the book may be rooted in history, McCallum says they all call for modern ingredients, and many can be made by 7-to-11-year-olds with little parental supervision.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to use bear grease, we鈥檙e not going to skin squirrels. Just use a stick of butter,鈥� McCallum says.
After all, the point of the recipes is to ignite an interest in the corresponding lessons.
鈥淭he idea of getting kids to love math, science, history, it鈥檚 really an amazing thing.鈥�
Want your scholar to get inspired in the kitchen?聽Try聽McCallum’s recipes below:聽
