The aroma of fresh bread baking and the thrill of watching seeds morph into radishes, lettuce or spinach are experiences every child should have. As a preschool/kindergarten teacher I made sure to add bread baking and gardening to the curriculum for my little charges.
If you’ve ever baked yeast bread you may wonder how a group of ten three, four and five-year-olds could accomplish such a task. The kneading is reserved for the teacher, for obvious reasons. Even though hands are scrubbed clean in anticipation of the project, one cannot be assured they will stay that way for an extended period of time.
But little hands can hold a measuring cup and carefully spoon flour until the cup is filled. This is real work– much more fun than playing in sand! The Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe calls for five cups of whole wheat flour and three cups of white flour, so eight children have the opportunity to measure flour, observing the differences in texture and smell. Salt and yeast require a measuring spoon and fine motor control, so these tasks are more suitable for the hands of the older children. Oil, honey and milk provide a new word for their vocabulary – liquids.
The liquids are poured from a measuring cup into a large bowl and the dry ingredients are added gradually while the children take turns stirring with the big wooden spoon. They watch as the mixture changes from thin to thick. When the dough is very thick, and the spoon no longer does the job, the teacher takes her turn and kneads the dough until it is smooth and round and ready to rise. As you have probably guessed by now, it takes more time – and much more patience – to bake bread when you have so many helpers!
While the dough rises the children return to their usual activities. The next step is short but exciting. They express surprise to see how big the dough has become. It fills the bowl! The teacher punches it and the air escapes. Then she divides it in half and shapes a loaf for each of the pans the children have “painted” with vegetable oil, and the loaves are covered with a tea towel and left to rise again.
Soon they are ready for the hot oven, and before long the whole school is filled with a mouth-watering, never-to-be-forgotten aroma of fresh bread baking – an experience every child should have. And who can resist tasting what smells so delicious? Especially when it’s spread with butter you helped make yesterday by shaking whipping cream in a Mason jar until the yellow lumps announce that butter has “come.”
Gardening is an outdoor activity and is easily combined with outdoor play. In early spring, a cooperative father plowed our garden plot. Using kid-sized rakes and hoes, the children enjoy preparing the soil for the seeds. We plant only those vegetables that will mature early – peas, radishes, onions, lettuce and spinach – since summer vacation will prevent harvesting later vegetables. Our one exception is a pumpkin patch. Hopefully the pumpkins will be ripening in the fall when the next school year begins. Perhaps we can raise our own jack-o’lanterns!
Strips of old carpet are placed between the rows so the children can walk without tracking dirt and mud into the school when they pull weeds or harvest their vegetables. Plastic dishpans filled with cold water allow them to wash the lettuce and spinach leaves outdoors. The magic of watching plants grow fascinates every child Parents are surprised to learn their children were eating radishes and onions which they refuse to touch at home. It makes a difference when you grow it yourself!
Sensory experiences are fundamental for teaching young children. When children bake bread and grow vegetables, all five senses are used. Language skills develop as they encounter new words; math skill grow as they measure and count; social skills increase as they take turns and learn to use equipment safely; and most of all it’s a lot of fun!
By Mary Jo Shannon [email protected]