On Wednesday I was in the kitchen and noticed that we had some left over ingredients to make a smoothie. I asked a few children if they would like to help me, a few children turned into about a dozen with them rushing over to the table to help. In Te Whariki, through the strand contribution, “Children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 70). I spread out the ingredients on the table and each child contributed to making the smoothie. Children are able to contribute to the adult world and this gives them great satisfaction and also builds their self-confidence (Tomlin, 2008). We had discussions about what we were using and what it might taste like. We also talked about how the smoothie maker works. Such as how it needs to be plugged in and it mixes all the ingredients together to make a smooth mixture. Ministry of Education (2007) say that through technology children are able to develop “an understanding of material properties, uses, and development is essential to understanding how and why products work the way they do” (p. 32). Once we had finished we turned on the maker, some children blocked their ears as they were watching. It was now the best part, the taste testing! Each child had a cup and tasted the smoothie, we then had another discussion about what it tasted like. I think this activity went well, although there were a lot of children that wanted to be involved. Maybe next time I could get two makers so children don’t have to wait for their turn as long as they did. I would also make sure I am more prepared with the ingredients and use some other ingredients, because we have a child with allergies and he couldn’t join in. I agree with, Story county (2004) they state that “Children with dietary restrictions should not be excluded from participating, but should instead be provided with an acceptable alternative” (para. 6). I would like to allow the children to make more decisions for themselves when cooking and do as much of the work as possible, as cooking encourages creativity (Tomlin, 2008).
At my centre we try to give children opportunities where they are able to help cook. Sometimes they help make sandwiches, make muffins, make smoothies, or help out when we have special occasions. For example a stir fry for Chinese New Year’s. We try to be culturally inclusive and explore with the children cooking and eating different types of food from different cultures (Terreni & McCallum, n.d.). The children really enjoy helping out and especially love the taste testing at the end. Cooking is a purposeful activity and children are able to use their knowledge about problem solving and processes. They are developing their physical skills and fine motor skills by using the spoons and language skills by having various discussions (Smorti, 1999). Through this experience we had many discussions about what was going on. Children were able to develop their ability to listen attentively and respond appropriately (Ministry of Education, 1996).
I believe that cooking and learning about cooking appliances help children’s learning and development. “Cooking activities in the early childhood curriculum promote the social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language development of a child” (Story county, 2004, para. 1). Although we do some cooking in my centre, I would like to provide even more experiences for them where they are able to contribute to cooking and learn about different appliances that we use.
The girl in these pictures is my daughter as she was joining in in the process.
Reference list
Early childhood development. (n.d.). Providing culturally competent care in early childhood services in New Zealand, Part 1: Considering culture. Retrieved from http://www.educate.ece.govt.nz/~/media/Educate/Files/Reference%20Downloads/oldECE/consideringculture1.pdf
Kinder Nature. (2004). Cooking experiences in early childhood. Story County, Iowa Conservation Board. Retrieved from http://kindernature.storycounty.com/display.aspx?DocID=2005418120
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.
Tomlin, C. (2008). Cool cooking for kids. Early childhood news: Excelligence Learning Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=541
I liked reading your blog about smoothies and love the idea. Its a great way to use up leftover fruit from morning tea and a great learning experience with the children. I have never made smoothies at preschool but think this is great and will find out if they have a blender. I really liked how you spread the ingredients on the table so the children could see what was going into their smoothie.
ReplyDeleteIt so important to think about the children with allergies as we have a few at my preschool and we always offer them an alternative so they feel like they are a part of the experience and gives them a sense of belonging to the centre (Ministry of Education, 1996). A blender is a practical invention that helps us to make smoothies easier (Smorti, 1999).Marisa maybe you could get each child to bring their favourite fruits to mix up in the blender and find out alternatives for the children with allergies.
I really liked how you used the left over fruit from moring tea to make the smoothies I think it is a rally good way to ensure that you have minimal waste and using up the fruit that is still good. I really liked how you talked about the meaningful conversations with the children about the smoothie maker works and it helps the children to understand how the things in the world around them work. I also really liked with this activity that the children got to test the final product of their smoothie making. With this activity the children are gaining confidence in offering ideas (Ministry of Education, 1996) I also agree that you could do an activity next time to include the children that have allergies, what food are you thinking about making new time so that you can include all of the children?
ReplyDeleteMarisa, I thought this was a great activity! As you said, the children were able to contribute as a group and work alongside each other to make something together. Cooking, baking, making smoothies and other food experiences are all highly important for skills in mathematics and science as well. “Providing different ways to package science ideas can help motivate children and encourage them to think about the science involved” (Johnston, 2005, p. 131). This is reflected in the smoothie making experience you set up. You were making smoothies together, but you were also learning about how the machine works and what happens to the food as it changes. I think maybe your next step could be to take this into a scientific exploration direction and look at how things can change into a different form or state when we do certain things to it. What do you think of this?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story Marisa and I love how so many children were involved with the smoothie making experience. I thought it was really good to explain what you were doing during this experience. From explaining of how the blender works to discussing with the children what they thought the smoothie would taste like. I could imagine the children getting excited about what was happening and this would have been a great chance for children to try out something new. Regarding the children with dietary issues, if they are intolerant or allergic to e.g. dairy maybe a way to include these children is to juice the fruit you have in the centre, adding nothing else. What do you think? Ministry of Education (1996) suggest that through including all children in experiences they will feel like they belong in the early childhood centre linking to the belonging strand of Te Whariki.
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