Cooking is more than just fuel — it’s part of culture, survival, celebration, and storytelling. In fantasy and science fiction worlds, cuisine often reveals something deeper about the land, the people, and their values. Think of Lembas bread in Lord of the Rings or blue milk in Star Wars — tiny details that make a world feel real.
Now imagine your learner inventing a glowing fruit porridge harvested under twin moons, or a foraged stew made from floating moss.
Welcome to Cooking in Imaginary Worlds — where creativity meets cuisine! Read on for more information about this new blog series.
About the Series
Cooking in imaginary worlds opens up a whole new way to engage kids in creative thinking, storytelling, and even real-world skills like following directions and trying new foods. This new blog series blends culinary fun with worldbuilding, giving kids the chance to taste their imaginations — literally.
Each week, I’ll be sharing a kid-friendly recipe inspired by the middle school curriculum unit, Science & Survival of Imaginary Worlds. These recipes are themed around fictional lands, creatures, and cultures, helping children connect food to creativity and storytelling. Some will be savory, others sweet — but all will spark curiosity.
The great thing is that even if your child is not doing the unit, the posts can still be read for enjoyment and the recipes can be made!
Whether you’re homeschooling, teaching in a classroom, or just looking for something unique to do with your kids, this series offers a little something for everyone.
What It Will Include
The blog series will include four posts- one post a week for four weeks. Each one will have the following:
- A fictional dish with a backstory
- A real world recipe that kids and adults can create
- A creative prompt for children to invent their own version
Why Food and Cooking?
Food isn’t just fuel — it’s a form of storytelling, tradition, and connection. Whether it’s shared around a campfire, grown in sky gardens, or brewed in potion-like kitchens, cuisine reflects the people, values, and environments of a world. The meals characters eat can reveal history, survival, celebration, or even power.
In imaginary worlds, food can be strange, symbolic, or downright magical — glowing fruits, storm-baked bread, or drinks that change your voice. Inventing these meals gives learners a fun and meaningful way to deepen their worldbuilding while exploring creativity, culture, and even science.
The more engaged children are when it comes their education, the more success they will have in various areas of their lives.
About the Unit
The Science & Survival of Imaginary Worlds is a creative, interdisciplinary curriculum unit designed for middle school students. This 12-week (3-month) unit invites learners to build an entire imaginary world from the ground up—combining science, math, geography, language arts, social studies, art, and even health and physical education into one immersive experience.
Perfect for homeschooling families, microschools, or flexible classrooms, this unit helps students develop critical thinking, storytelling, and STEM skills as they design their own world’s terrain, invent unique creatures, explore ecosystems, and solve survival challenges. Along the way, they’ll map regions, create mythologies, engineer tools, and craft meaningful connections between environment, culture, and adaptation.
What makes this middle school unit especially unique is the hands-on worldbuilding approach. Everything learners do—whether it’s writing a myth or designing a shelter—ties back to the world they’re building. The unit also includes helpful printable workbook pages and fun guidance from fictional character guides who bring personality and humor to the journey.
In addition to everything else, we also include many neurodiverse adaptations for each activity in each lesson. This is a big part of our curriculum units and we made sure to provide ones that are on the right level for middle school aged learners.
If you’re looking for an engaging alternative to traditional curriculum that nurtures creativity, science skills, and storytelling, this middle school worldbuilding unit delivers.
In Conclusion
This blog series kicks off our new direction for Accessible Pathways in regards to increased engagement of the units beyond just the lesson books/workbooks themselves. These posts will further immerse children in the Science & Survival of Imaginary Worlds unit, resulting in them looking forward to each day’s lesson and in turn- having academic and personal success.
Coming Soon: The Science & Survival of Imaginary Worlds!
This 3-month interdisciplinary middle school curriculum launches late June or early July 2025 and will be available in three flexible formats to fit your needs:
* Digital Only Tier — PDF curriculum + skill sharpeners + educator guide, $14
* Printed Workbook Tier — Professionally printed lesson book and workbook, $30
* Deluxe Bundle — Printed workbook + exclusive supplies + art and worldbuilding extras + surprise items!, $68
Shipping available within the U.S. for printed and deluxe options.
Sign up for updates or check back soon to grab your copy!
Accessible Pathways 