A cooking experience is always captivating for children especially on a rainy day. The children were looking forward to baking their cup cakes for morning tea. Apart from an enjoyable experience, there were many learning outcomes achieved by the children. The boys and girls eagerly participated in the baking activity and it is through these learning experiences that children and educators discover new interests and abilities. For example Joseph was confident in using the camera and he captured these special moments using the digital camera. The children also learned skills of working with their peers by taking turns and respecting their spaces.
Cooking and Baking, categorized as Food Technology, is an important area of the technological curriculum. Children develop an understanding of cooking and baking processes, preparing and presenting food (Manukau Institute of Technology, Course Notes, 2010). The children followed the recipe, thereby developing an understanding of “process cooking” (Smorti, 1999). I also provided an electric hand mixer, which led to discussions of how mum previously had to use a wooden spoon when baking and now it is much easier to mix the ingredients using an electric mixer. The children were eager to have their turn with the electric mixer and some needed me to guide and help them hold it. Theorist Lev Vygotsky affirms learning in a social environment when support is provided by more experienced peers and teachers (Santrock, 2008).
Strand 1 Well Being of Te Whariki states, “children develop self- help and self-care skills for eating, drinking, food preparation,” (Ministry of education, 1996, p.48). Strand 3 of Te Whariki states, “children experience an environment where there are equitable opportunities for learning, irrespective of gender, ability, age, ethnicity, or background; they are affirmed as individuals and are encouraged to learn with and alongside each others,” (Ministry of education, 1996, p.64). The children then individually spooned the mixture into the cup cake trays, chose sprinkles to decorate their cup cake and we then baked them in the oven.
Smorti, affirms that using a process approach to technology supports the doing as more important rather than the product (1999). In this activity there was an end product and the children were excited to see the baked cup cakes and then enjoyed them for morning tea, this builds their self-esteem and self-confidence. They know their contributions are recognised and valued as they try out new equipment during experiments and share their ideas, (Ministry of education, 1996).
Te Whariki affirms that children’s development takes place during active participation, each child should be allowed to “make his or her mark,” (Ministry of education, 1996, p.64).
Yes, you're so right children love cooking and it offers them a great opportunity to use today's technology much more advanced then the wooden spoon and hand beater of my days.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying about the importance of the process and I am glad that you mentioned the delight of the children when they saw their cupcakes. After all it's the delightful results of our labours that inspire us to keep doing and creating things.
Tumeke to mahi!
Wow Vanessa. What an amazing experience for the children. Apart from learning science , maths and language, what a great way for the children to learn life skills. Cooking with children can be especially helpful when they are on their own and won't have to rely on junk food to sustain themselves.
ReplyDeleteKeep up your awesome work.
This is a enjoyable experiejnce for children definetly.through your class children will learn lots of skills and use of technology.Parents would love to have them giving a hand at home in cooking.As children love family corner,draamtic plays, cooking is essential part of it, keep it up.This also has a good amount of learning towards their maths and numeracy.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, cooking is fun to do because they got to stir, mix, taste and so on. It's also a technology activity. It is a creative process because the products are usually very different whn you look at athe baking tray at the end of session (Smorti, 1999).The children learn so many things from cooking such as social skills, language skills, they learn to concentrate, science, maths and so on.
ReplyDeleteWell done Vanessa
This post is well linked to food technology. Well done. Children love cooking, how often do you offer this kind of learning experience for children? How would you extend their knowledge and interests about cooking?
ReplyDelete