I have 2 children (7 & 9) who have been asking me if I can teach them how to decorate cakes. I have only taken 1 Wilton course so I'm not in any position to teach them...even if they are only kids. Plus, I'm not about to teach them how to make a rose...if you know what I mean. I'm wondering if anyone has ever taken their kids to the cupcake classes that are offered at JoAnn's or Michaels that are specifically for kids? Is it worth the money or should I just give them some cupcakes and some bags filled with icing and let them "practice" that way?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Anyone?

I wanted to have some one on one time with my 8 year old daughter, so I signed us up for course 1. She is having a blast. And since I don't need to learn anything I am there to just help her. She has already asked to take course 2.

My 6 yo is dying to learn too, but I don't feel he is ready. Even my 8 yo has a hard time with some things, simply because her hands are small and she doesn't have the strength yet. She is very, very mature though. If she wasn't I wouldn't have tried until she was 9-10.

As for learning at home, give them the back of a cookie sheet to practice on. that is how I learned. Rows and rows for shells, stars etc ont he back of a cookie sheet. Then scrape it off and start again.

For that age group you can just show them the right way to hold the bag, and what the different tips can do, then let them go at it. Since they're your kids you don't have to try to do everything at once, you can show them something new every now and then. I find that younger kids like that prefer to just play around, and the horrendous creations that they come up with will still make them happy. When they get a little older you can show them more technical details, but at 7 and 9 they'll probably still have a little trouble learning how to hold the icing bag without having the icing come out of the top, so don't worry about roses yet.

If they do pester you to make flowers, show them the drop flower tips, and how to make simple flat flowers like daisies. They can also learn to do borders and write on cakes, and that goes a long way in decorating.

The icing plug method that's detailed in the cake decorating section really works well for kids, too. I'm going to be teaching a couple of classes for older kids next month, and I plan on making LOTS of icing plugs. The thread is near the top of the list under the cake decorating forum, and is titled something like "great tip from my instructor" or something along those lines.

If you can do the basics I wouldn't do the classes for them, unless you really want to. The classes can be fun, but the come with a pretty pricey supply list sometimes.

For those ages I would just make them some cupcakes or a small cake and give them some bags with icing and a couple of tips and just let them play. If they express an interest in more, show them stars, dots, swirls... Maybe clowns, but just basic easy stuff. Don't bother with the rose. It is too many steps young ones, and alot of times they don't have the hand strenght to work with stiff icing and make the roses.

I tie the tops off, too, but they still manage to get it all over the place. I figured tou to tell them that they squeeze with their right hands and guide with their left (if they're right-handed), but not to squeeze with the left. That seems to help on the seepage for some reason!

When I was teaching I had a six year old in the class. She did an awesome job. She could even do the rose by the end, looked more like a cabbage. She did better than some of the ladies in the class.

I have a done a couple of classes with Girl Scouts ranging from 9 to mom's that were there with their kids.
I had a couple of helpers, I showed them the basics and then had them try out stuff and I think it worked pretty good. 1st class I had 38 students, second class I have 59 - we had a blast. I would never have been able to do this if my helpers were not there especially the BC Filler Lady!

A few weeks ago a friend of mine wanted her kids to learn to use fondant. So I had her 2 kids and each with a friend come over. I set it up like a real class and it worked out pretty good. I had made 4 batches of MMF ahead of time and we made an extra one on the day - that one ended up being good for decoration it really needed to rest. I learned a lot and I am pretty sure that the girls did too and they had a blast and they took many leftovers home.

If you want to do the Basic class I sugest Wilton's web page to give you ideas of what to do and you can even print out work sheets and certificates for the girls It's great. There are 2 links.

http://www.wilton.com/recipes/icingfunkidsproject/

http://www.wilton.com/recipes/icingfunkidsproject/materialsandtips.cfm

Good Luck.

Hi,

our michaels store is offering a 2 hr class for kids and for youth they can take a 4 week class just for them. What a great idea. My 7 year old is going to take the 2 hour class since the youth is for 13yrs and up.

Hi,

our michaels store is offering a 2 hr class for kids and for youth they can take a 4 week class just for them. What a great idea. My 7 year old is going to take the 2 hour class since the youth is for 13yrs and up.

Hey, thanks everyone for your replies. I think I'll make them each a 6" cake and teach them the dots, swirls, maybe drop flowers...easy stuff. One session might be enough. You know how kids are...they beg and beg to do something and once they've done it once it's out of their system for a while.

Again, thanks!

Sounds like so much fun. How much do the classes cost?