Cooking, learning and crafts all in one

DID you know the flamingo is only pink because of its diet?

Louise Fennell from Wokingham believes cooking and crafts are what help us glow, and she’s sharing this message with her new educational website named after the exotic bird itself.

Launched at the start of lockdown, The Cultured Flamingo is a free information hub for families who love adding fun to their learning.

The website and social media pages feature recipes and creative activities from a range of countries and cultures.

Ms Fennell said: “I came up with the idea about a year ago, but it wasn’t until lockdown that I finally had the time to launch it.

“My family and I have always celebrated different holidays and festivals and love learning about other cultures bymaking their dishes and trying new crafts.

“I’ve done a lot of research over the years and crafts and travelling are big interests of mine, so I thought why not share this information with others?”

Since introducing the idea on Facebook, Louise has expanded her page to Instagram as well as a blog and website.

The creative said: “My Facebook and Instagram pages provide snippets of the activities that families can try, whereas the blog goes into much more detail about each country.”

“So far the blog has covered India, China and Mexico, and next on the line-up is Japan.”

Louise also hopes her activities will give parents a hand with home schooling as some children spend their 16th week away from the classroom.

She said: “The aim of my activities is to teach children without them knowing they are being taught.

“For example, I recently posted a traditional honey cake recipe for Summer Solstice on the Facebook page.

“Most children wouldn’t knowwhat Summer Solstice is, but bymaking these cakes with their family they’re not only learning a new recipe, but also an important date on the calendar.”

“Other celebrations we’ve covered include Canada Day, when we made Canadian butter tarts, and Eid al Fitr when we made stuffed dates.”

And Ms Fennell’s work hasn’t just been praised locally, she’s received feedback from families across the world who have used her ideas in their everyday family activities.

She added: “One parent got in contact to say they love the activities because they’re fun, educational and affordable.

“I don’t charge for the activities because

I want them to be accessible to as many people as possible, especially at a time when it’s already hard enough to find things to occupy your kids with.

“Anyone can use my site, it doesn’t just have to be parents of younger children.

“One of my friends has a daughter in year 10 who enjoyed the exploring Mexico aspect of my blog and shared it with her form tutor.

“The teacher has now incorporated my activities into their weekly newsletter.

“Although I launched the idea during lockdown, I plan to continue it into the future as I really enjoy doing it and it seems others do too.

“When things return to normal I hope to introduce some themed parties which I can take to families.”

While not cooking or adding to her website, Ms Fennell works as a junior school cookery teacher and Atelierista — studio teacher — which she hopes to return to in September.

To view Louise’s activities log on to theculturedflamingo.com or search The Cultured Flamingo on Facebook or Instagram.