Jerkins' Family Favorites, Part 1

In the Jerkins home, the holiday season is a time for family. We love to cook and eat, but most of all, we love spending hours together in the kitchen preparing for a feast. As Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approach, families throughout Florida will gather together, presenting fun learning opportunities.

Over the next five weeks, I will share some of my family’s favorite holiday recipes, along with tips to help you bring math into the kitchen! Come #LEARNWITHME.

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GREEN BEAN BUNDLES (Serves 4-6)

The recipe for green bean bundles is one of our absolute favorites! Our cousin, Becky, introduced them to our family. They are fun to make and delicious to eat. Elementary children can practice a variety of Florida Standards while prepping the bundles. While cooking, try asking your child some of the questions below.

Ingredients

3 14.5-ounce cans of whole green beans

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 package of thin center cut bacon

Garlic salt to taste

Wooden toothpicks

Directions

Spray 8” x 11” pan with oil to grease, and preheat oven to 350°. Drain the green beans. Cut the bacon strips in halves. Gather a bundle of 12 beans and wrap with ½ slice bacon, securing with a toothpick. Next, line the pan with bundles. Then melt butter on top of stove. Add brown sugar and garlic salt, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Pour over rows of bundles. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered and then 15-20 minutes uncovered.

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Kindergarten (MAFS.K.CC.2.5):

• How many green beans are there?

• Can you count out 12 green beans?

• How many bundles of 12 do we have?

• If I have 2 green beans, let’s count how many it takes to get to 12.

Counting is a great place to start with your kindergartner. Building their counting skills will create a foundation for working with adding and subtracting problems, which is a very important skill.

Third Grade (MAFS.3.MD.1.1):

• What time is it?

• If the recipe says for the green beans to cook for 30 minutes uncovered, what time will we take the cover off?

• What time will the green beans be completely done if it takes 30 minutes covered and then 15 more minutes of being uncovered?

• If we want to take the cover off the green beans at 4:45pm, what time do we need to put the pan in the oven?

My family loves this recipe so much, that we usually double or triple the recipe. This is a great opportunity to practice reasoning quantitatively.

Fourth Grade (MAFS.4.NF.2.4):

• If we double the recipe, how many bundles of green beans would we need to make?

• How many cups of butter would we need to triple the recipe?

• How many green beans would you eat if you had 1/3 of the bundles?

Talking about the bundles, which have 12 green beans each, and the total number of green beans will keep your child on their toes. Get out a notepad and paper so they can show their thought process. It may be different than yours, which is great!

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Making and continuing family traditions during the holiday season is a source of fun and learning! Bring math into the kitchen next week with another Jerkins' Family Favorite, marinated carrots.