Cooking with children

Food technology involves all groups of people.Cooking and eating is loved by all and for children it is an experience full of fun and excitment.At my centre, the junior children are involved in cooking lessons  often combined with the seniors.To give them an experience for thier own was challenging. Following their interest  from the family corner and from sandpit I asked them if they would like to cook i the room.They were very excited about it and so we planned to make something different., not the cake and muffins and biscuits but Roti.They helped me collect the ingredients and carry them to the room. The ingredients were flour, salt ,oil ,butter with few basins, rolling boards and rolling pins. As they took turns some of them scooped  a cup full of flour each into their basins. Following instructions, they added pinch of salt and a spoon of oil to the flour. With asistance from a teacher and me they mix their flour with hot water.We allowed them to knead as the dough cooled a bit.Than they followed the demonstration and made small round balls out of their dough and rolled them gently on the board trying to make a circle. Not all could do a circle ,they ended up with all shapes,doesn't matter as long as they were thin enough to be cooked. It was amazing to see the little ones moving themselves around to roll the rotis.They then carried them on their small hand to a teacher who helped them to cook their rotis on a electric frypan . They were to stand and observed how their roti was cooked for them since the frypan was hot.
 This bought in lots of excitment and lots of questioning on how  and why as they observed the process..The smell of roti with butter on it attracted  lots of noses and soon others were there to investigate what was happening in the junior room. It did not take a lot of time when we had a plate full of hot rotis. It  was the time now to enjoy what they had made so all sat nicely around the table with a paper towels and enjoyed the delicious roti with butter on it. "yummy" , "this is nice may be we can make it again",  " more please",I like the roti". This is all we could hear for a while till all rotis finished.
 Later children from the senior room also came over to enquiry about when they will make roti and what they needed to make it.This was a good investigation and we committed to make more rotis soon. This experience were related to parents by their children as they came to pick them in the afternoon.We had some dicussions with some interested parents who want to make roti at home.This experience involvedsome measuring skills,manipulatives like coordination of eye and fingers and muscles,shapes, tecture and taste which builts onto hand -on experience ." The developing stages relate closely to language development,stimulation and encouragement received from adults and other children" ( Somerset,2000).  Linking to exploration in Te Whariki, " Children convey and receive information and ideas with increasing purpose,accuracy and confidence". This was obvious when children asked questions and measured the quantity of ingredients learning accuracy and mathematical concepts.Children have learned  widening social interaction,awareness of culture and food , and and learned the corect use of tools and equipments. ( Ministry of Education,1996). " Children experience an environment where they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive" ( MOE,1996,p.80). They are able to familiarize themselves with techonology and its use.Food technology is a topic that can be extended on and with children it is important to learn where the ingredients come from,ways of cooking. technology used in cooking ,cultural food and variety and develop on special values of learning and development.( MacNaughton & Willaims,2004)

cooked roti

celebrating mathematic week at the centre

During the mathematic week ,our centre placed some importance for all children to engage in maths activities. Teachers were to set up activities in differnt learnng spaces that would encourage children's learning  and exploring mathes concepts.This event relates to learning with technology and other devices

At my centre we had a week for the event marking the importance of Maths in early childhood learning, play and experience. The purpose of this event was to allow children the opportunity to construct knowledge about the physical world  and explore ways to represent information.

During the week children were exposed to all different maths activities that they could participate and experience.  The teachers had planned some learning experiences for them to participate and enjoy the learning. Some of there experience were,children were allowed to use computers to do maths,like colours ,shapes , numbers and simple maths operations like addition and subtraction. They were also exposed to calculators where they were able to play with the numbers and see the display. Other  activities that children were involved in and relating to Maths were, water play with measuring cups and cylinders, cooking for all measurements, using tape measures for heights ,and lengths, they used scales fro weights, mass and balancing. Children also leaned through solving puzzles where they were able to sort and choose shapes. Children begin to understand relations by exploring  and manipulating objects. According to Jean Piagets constructivist approach, children do not passively receive knowledge ,they construct it. ( Gonzalez- Mena,2004).Children at early age gain knowledge through physical, social and logico Maths. They learn how the smaller objects can be stalked on the bigger ones and not reverse.

 Children also engaged in lots of numerical and number learning, by writing, coloring counting and arranging. They learned through number toys, equipments, which allowed them to explore  According to Te Whariki ,Exploration  goal 4  children experience and environment where they develop  working theories for making sense of the natural, social ,physical and material worlds. Goal 3 children experience an environment where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking and reasoning ,experiment and solve problems. ( Ministry of Education, 1996).

Playing, exploring and experimenting with water widens perceptions and develops social contacts skills and co-ordination and experiment science and maths concepts.

To extend their learning and to develop conversation I asked them about the colours, the patterns and the number of marbles they were using. “Questioning makes different demands on children’s cognitive skills and language skills” (MacNaughton & Williams, 2004, p.145).Young children creativity involves “ possibility thinking” and this can be genetaed in all areas of learning imaginative play,musical exploration,cooking,physical plays, writing, mathematics and science.(Craft,2004).(Craft,2004).   


   

fancy hat day at the centre

Celebrating an event at the centre.

Children at my centre had interest in various characters of movies, books,catoons and superheroes. In order to extend and support their interests we organized a fancy hat day for all children,staff and whanau.The main purpose was also to for the children to share their creative hats with each other,reflecting their favourite characters,colour or reflect their the things they like doing, such as eating and playing.The development that took place for children were varied ,especially concentrating on the creativity,imaginary,dramatic and language.Children received lots of stimulation and encouragement form the adults ,parents and teachers participating in the event. Accoding to Te Whariki,strand, communication states "children experience an environmnent where they discouver and develop different ways to be creative and expressive" (Ministry of Education,1996,p.80). Children develop familiarity with the materials and technology they use in creating their hats.they also develop skills and confidence in their process of art and craft.

Children were able to express themselves of being different characters and exchange experience and ideas.Some had acquired the attitude from observing,and assessing others.This idea was also very much supported by the parents and whanau as they made creative hats  for their children  to wear  and some whanau were there to support them in their presentation and enjoy the day. 

The day had been  fun and an exciting one which included children taking part in a parade on the stage and receiving a prize for their participation.The event had a  significant influence on the childrens learning and development concerning people ,places ,things and events because it involved lots of people, reference to various media to resemble characters ,culture, relating to places and stage performances. 

Children  expressed  their interest  and their growing competence  to show the richness of their creativity and imagination.  This gives us the opportunity to improve thoughts, action and communication and to

extend our skills ,nurture feelings and understanding. 
 To extend  children’s interest teachers need to be involved, provide resources and  materials and opportunities for them to develop and appreciate their experiences.Exploring and experiementing is never ending for children and they investigate people,places things and events to famiiarise themselves with patterns and routines . (Somerset,2004)

 “ The adults role is to provide a stimulating environment and to identity the stage of development individual children have reached so that appropriate materials can be presented rather than to actively intervene in the learning process”( Duffy,p.92) ,   this theory is supported by Piaget “ adults role is supervisory rather than interactive”this means providing opportunities.Childrens laerning enviromnet extends beyond their immediate enviromnrt,the imporatnce of leaning from the community and realting to imporatne people , (bronfenbrenner)

Road safety week

The Declaration for Road Safety was from 16 August to 10 September

During this week we had  a visit from the Road Safety Officials at the centre to talk to our children. The officers got down to children's level to explain to them about Road safety. Children were explained the importance of putting their helmets on while going for  a bike ride, scooter ride and on skates to protect their heads because  heads are the very important part of our body.Children liked the idea of wearing helmets and they some of them said that they did not wear hats. At their response ,the officer requested them to talk to their parents and teachers about this too.

The second point she talked about  was the importance of wearing seat belts  and having safe car seats while traveling by cars. She reminded children of simple road rules like not playing on the road or alongside it, walking on the footrpath always, check for driveways fro any reversing cars, not to play around parked cars and to be safe on roads.The teaching fromsuch important people had good influnece on childrens learnings.

The other imporatne discussion she had with the children was crossing roads. The best place to cross is at the pedestrian crossing. She asked the children what was the other name for the crossing and one child said ,white lines and the other child said zebra lines. Childrens  attention, and listen  skills were admirable.sh the Officer informed children on ways to crosss roads like holding hands of an adult before crossing.This fascinated children and they contributed to her discussion. As she asked them why was it important to hold an adults hand when about to cross, and most children gave  the answer and said that they will be knocked down by the cars,and can get hurt and die.

 The use of traffic lights on the road was also highlighted on as children were asked lots of question about the use of lights and they had a good knowledge of it.One child said "iknow the lights,red is stop,green is go and orange means go very very slow.The officers wes rather pleased that children paid attention to  their environment and community.Here they all sang the traffic light song.

To Further emphasis the points the Officer had many photos that showed the children in cars, on bikes and at crossing.Children had to pick the picture that they think displayed the best road safety rules and they enjoyed explaining them as they were asked individually to explain if they liked the photo .Children were quick in picking out the wrongs  and the rights on them.A good teaching strategy was used by the officer .

It was amasing to note how children relate to imporant poeple in the community. They talked about the road safety  uniform their were wearing and also related to importance of Police and Road Safety Police vehicles. Children understood that they are there to protect and help them.They paid lots of attention to what the Officers were saying and also felt free to ask questions and give their opinions too. 

This lead to lots of learning for children. They participated in a drawing competition ,they drew pictures of road safety and explained their picture stories to the Officers and as a result some of them received prizes of road safety T/shirts. The significance of the presene of imporant people of the community has an inflence on the laerningand development for children and The use of technology here is for the safety of people.This reflects the well being for the children " children experience an environemnt where they are kept safe from harm"( Ministryor Eduation,1996). " the adults raise children's awareness about what is safe  and what si harmful and the probable consequences of ceratin actions ".