This pass Monday it was Halloween but it was pajama day at school. I found it very interesting how the children new it was pajama day and didn't wear their customs to school but two children. One boy said that his pirate costume were his pajamas. As a girl with a princess costume came in for the day a child told her " It's pajama day not custom day." The girl said noting but asked her mom to take of her princess dress she had her regular clothes on unders it.
The children played most of the morning inside. The children had a cooking activity. They made carrot muffins. The teacher started the activity good but one things that I think she did wrong was not having all the ingridient out and ready at the table. All the children were ready and sitting nicely at the table. The cildren were ready to help. First she shredded the carrots on a small table next to were all the children were sitting down. Then she let the children add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla flavor and cinnamon. She first measure it her self and let the children mix the ingridients. Everytime she needed a new ingridient she would go to the kitchen and grave it and brought it out to the table. At no time did the teacher sit down with the children as she did the cooking experiment with the children. The teacher stood up the entire time and reach over the children head to pass the bowl and have the children mix. Throught the Cooking exeriment she told the children many times to pass the bowl around and mix it ten times. The children did a very good job they stir the bowl ten times and then pass it over to their right. One thing I noticed that some children were not able to mix it. As they stir the bowl the ingredients spill out of the container. The teacher wasn't at the table to see it and to guide the children as she help them do it. One of the assistants was in the kitchen getting everything for snack ready. The other assistant had gone out of the room to do something the teacher ask her to do. Once the muffins mix was ready the teacher took the bowl and poured it her self on the muffins trades. As she did it she stood in the kitchen by the counter and the children watched from the table.
If I was teacher first of all i would have prepare all the ingredients. If the ingredients didn't fit on the table, I would have set them on a trade close by maybe on that table that she used to shred the carrots or on the counter that was closed by. That would have stop her from walking in out of the kitchen to get one ingredient at a time.
Also to extend the children learning I would talk about out cooking experiment before and after. I would explained all the cooking ingredients that we will use. Also the next day I would review the cooking experiment. Review the ingredients and what was need of utensils to stir and to pour on. I would also asked then questions of the taste and how the smell. I would write all their response on a construction paper for then to see and read.
It didn't seem like the adults involved supported these children development through communication like asking what the children think might happened next when they add more ingredients or talk to the children about the ingredients used to make the dish.
ReplyDeleteThe developmental skills the children learned through this activity was math, science,large and small motor skills and turn taking.
I agree with Dwan, there should have been more support from the adults in this activity. The teacher should have been prepared and had all of the materials ready before. Although the teacher should have been there to be supervising and asking open ended questions the kids did a great job on their own if a little bit of the mix spilled.
ReplyDelete