We had made cupcakes, and brownies as well as savoury pinwheels, this week I thought it would be good to use a simple recipe for little puddings that are cooked in the microwave. The children helped me to collect the ingredients from the kitchen cupboards and the fridge. The recipe has pictures as well, so the children choose the equipment and utensils that they thought they would need based on the pictures and their previous cooking knowledge.
During this time I questioned the children on their choices, and asked them if they could think of any other tools they could use instead. I was surprised at just how much knowledge the children had in way of technology used in the kitchen.
"My Mummy has a cake mixer, it's to mix all the stuff up so you don't get any bumps or a sore arm". Said D. I then explained to her and the group of children that, that was a perfect example of technology in the kitchen. A tool created to make a particular task easier. The children seemed to grasp what I was telling them and continued to tell me about the different gadgets and appliances that they had in their own kitchens at home, as we began to put the mixture together.
The pudding mixture was put into the mugs and as we took the first lot over to the microwave, some of the children looked very concerned! "You can't cook it in their Carly!" exclaimed M. "Why not?" I asked. "Cos the microwave is just for making stuff hot, you have to cook stuff in the oven." I couldn't help but smile at this comment. It made me realise that technology is in fact deeply influenced by the context in which it occurs (Smorti, 1999). D had only seen the microwave used to reheat food rather than actually cook it.
I explained that we could use a microwave to actually cook food as well a heat it, and I used to cook book we were using to show them the all the recipes in there that were cooked using only the microwave. The children seemed be gaining an understanding of this, but still looked quite shocked when their puddings emerged from the microwave!!!
This experience was both enjoyable and valuable as the children were able to use their mathematical, science, reading and physical skills in the process, as well as their social skills as they worked together to reach a common goal (Smorti, 1999).
Hi Carly,
ReplyDeleteSounds like your children had a great social time cooking their puddings and were given the choice of ingredients as well as utensils. All of this tells me that they are given the responsibility for their own learning and know how some tools not only hasten the process but prevent us from getting sore arms. It brought back good memories for me when I was growing up,every year around October,my latemum would sit on the floor with a ceramic bowl and toil away as she stirred the contents of her fruit cake while we waited patiently to lick the bowl and spoon. The children also used various skills to make their puddings and found out that the microwave has another purpose ! well done, Luana
Hi, Carly, your little puddings’ activity seemed very successful, as it not only created a lot of learning opportunities for the children, but also helped them make a connection between their ‘funds of knowledge’ and their current experiences (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 1992, cited in Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2008). From the children’s and your conversation, I noticed that the children and you are able to exchange your own information as well as develop shared understandings. Arthur et al. (2008) stated that this kind of learning experiences enhance the relationships between the children and the teachers.
ReplyDeleteSome children, especially children (M) and (D), they competently challenged you to try to use the microwave to cook the puddings. This evidently showed that the learning partnerships between you and the children is build up. According to Arthur et al. (2008), these partnerships provide us, as ECE student teachers, with greater socialcultural awareness of our children’s home and community experiences and knowledge networks. When our children’s ‘funds of knowledge’ and home experiences are included in our centre, children are likely to gain more competent and confident in their future learning. Additionally, they also feel more comfortable with the centre’s routines and environment (Ministry of Education, 1996).
Carly, I like the ways which you interacted with the children and showed respect of their point of views during the little puddings activity. It would be wonderful if you consider encouraging the children to share their home recipe in the coming cooking activities.
Well done, Carly.
References:
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2008). Programming & planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). Victoria, Australia: CENGAGE Learning.
Ministry of Education, (1996).Te Whāriki, he whaariki mātaurauge mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Wow, another fantastic reflection, Carly! I love the ways you asked children lots of open-ended questions as well as provided them lots of opportunities at decisions making and expressing their opinions/point of view. What a great learning experience for your children. According to Fleer and Jane (2011), providing opportunities and experiences for children to look at things from different perspectives are very important in fostering children’s development of creative thinking and critical thinking.
ReplyDeleteI can see that your children had a great fun time in their cooperative learning through this food preparation activity. Fleer and Jane (2011) mentioned, as teachers we need to provide children opportunities to develop their social and collaborative skills for them to work effectively in group activities.
References
Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design and technology for children. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hi Carly
ReplyDeleteAnother great reflection. When reading your reflections, I feel as if I am in the room with you all. By the sound of things you and the children seemed to have had great fun, which is what teaching and learning is all about. I believe that in keeping lessons interesting and child focussed, greater learning takes place. The children will always enjoy the process of food technology and the best result is eating the end product. I seem to be a bit like M, only using my microwave for heating things up. This just comes down to my inexperience with working with microwaves...lol.
Children are our teachers everyday.
Nice reflection
Cheers
Rosie