Johnson House
Preschool
Story by Educator Sanju
The children in Johnson House preschool always enjoy their cooking experiences. Whether it is pretend cooking in the mud kitchen or at the playdough table, they always display huge interest in ‘cooking’ a variety of foods. From cupcakes to soup, to bread to spaghetti, the pretend cooking brings joy to their faces, and they love serving their pretend food to educators and peers.
To further extend this interest the children engaged in a real hands-on cooking experience, making some bread ‘sushi rolls’.
The children started the by washing their hands and then gratings some carrots very carefully. Each child had their own chopping board and they prepared the bread by cutting the crusts off with a butter knife, making it easier for them to roll the bread. Then they used a rolling pin to make the bread flat so it was thin and easy to roll. After that, the children spread some butter onto the bread and could then choose to top this with grated carrot, cucumber or avocado. The children chose which items to add—some of them were happy with just one topping, whereas others chose all three.
Then came the fun part: rolling the bread up to make it like a sushi roll. I showed them how to roll the bread on my chopping board. After we finished making our bread sushi rolls, the children enjoyed eating them and they agreed that it was a delicious and very healthy meal.
Through this activity the children had an opportunity to experience the different textures of the ingredients used, as well as to develop their problem-solving skills, learning that if there was too much filling on their roll, was hard to roll the bread. The experience also enhanced the children’s knowledge about the diversity in foods, cultures and people.
Community Playgroups
Story by Playgroup Coordinator Rebecca
At playgroups we love painting with water! Painting with water is an incredibly simple activity—all you need are paint brushes and water. This is a ‘process’ art activity (as opposed to a product-focussed or end result activity) with no mess as the ‘paint’ disappears when the water dries. Painting with water allows your child to have the experience of painting and seeing the results of their actions without you having to do a lot of cleaning up afterwards.
While there are no ‘products’ or permanent art pieces to show at the end of this activity, it still has many benefits for your child. Painting with water can be a stress relieving activity as children can create to their heart’s content without feeling the pressure to produce anything. Children can paint over and over on the same place as the painting disappears when it dries. Holding the paintbrush helps to strengthen your child’s fingers and they build their fine motor skills as they make marks and strokes such as curves and zig zags that are necessary for writing later. Painting with water on a large surface such as a wall or the floor also encourages them to use their gross motor skills to stretch, bend, turn and to create in a large space.
Consider giving painting with water a go at home this week, we would love to know how it goes!
