The children in the Snowflake Room have shown a big interest in cooking. As educators, we are intentional with the opportunities we present to the class to nurture this growing interest. We wondered: Does the children’s interest lie in cooking or serving food? Do the children like serving their peers food or do they enjoy the act of giving in general?
“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.” – Guy Fieri
After a couple of successful cooking projects, the teachers asked the children: What would you like to make in our classroom?
Student: Pretzels
Student: Eggs
Student: Marshmallows
Student: Pancakes
Student: Noodles
As we reflected on the kind of play we see all of the children in our class participate in, serving each other food was at the height of their play. Based on this observation, we took this interest a step further, we partnered with Chef Kelly and asked if our class can rotate serving snack to the whole school. Having a big responsibility provided empowerment and pride in each Snowflake child as they contributed to the school. This empowerment and excitement was evidenced by the class asking “Is it my turn today?!”.
Serving snack was an expansion of our class’ interest in serving their peers and giving. This role provides our class to practice patience, turn taking, confidence, pride, and community contribution. We wonder: Are the children interested in more than giving/serving food? How can we incorporate more opportunities of giving? What other opportunities can we provide for responsibilities in the classroom?
After observing the Snowflakes’ interactions with cooking and serving others, an organic next step felt like finding a way to combine the two in a meaningful way. With Thanksgiving around the corner and many children discussing the topic of thankfulness, we offered the concept of making a breakfast for their grown ups. We were met with excitement, cheers, claps, and tons of ideas!
In preparation for our Grown Up Breakfast, we chatted about what would be needed to transform the music studio into a breakfast restaurant. We thought about what we see and experience when going to restaurants, and what parts of this experience are important to incorporate.
Student: You need to wait for food.
Student: Tables and seats.
Student: A counter to pay.
Student: A colorful menu.
Student: Waiters.
Student: We need fire and hot chocolate!
We partnered with Chef Kelly to prep vegan pancakes for our grown up breakfast. Each Snowflake had the opportunity to scoop, measure, pour, and stir. The final steps: sprinkles and pancake flipping!
Flipping pancakes encouraged the Snowflake’s:
- Turn taking
- Wrist control
- Patience
- Hand-eye coordination
The morning of our Grown Up Breakfast was busy! As soon as the Snowflakes begun to arrive at school, they washed their hands and prepared the fruit salad. Once the large music studio was open, it was all hands on deck to get tables and chairs set up.
The Snowflakes brought menus to their special guests, inviting them to circle which items they would like. From there, the Snowflakes brought the menus to the serving table and prepared the plates. The Snowflakes were very eager to be the waiters, and get in on the eating, too.
The final menu included:
- Water
- Juice
- Pancakes
- Fruit salad
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate chips
- Whipped cream
- Maple syrup
Parent: My favorite part of the Grown Up Breakfast was seeing the pride on the faces of all the Snowflakes. It was clear they had worked very hard to prepare, setup, cook, and serve their grown ups and I loved to see their excitement and pride and hear their laughter as they shared a meal with their special people.
This exploration would not have been possible without the partnership of our wonderful families!
Reflection by Amelia Beck and Elizabeth Klak, Snowflake Co-Teachers
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