Learning Adventures in the Kitchen
by Kathleen Peake, Kindergarten Teacher -
Our new kindergarten kitchen is an exciting learning space for our youngest learners. It is the perfect embodiment of inquiry and play based learning as kindergarteners explore handling fruits and vegetables, following recipes, counting and measuring, cooking and baking their favourite food. They learn and follow the kitchen rules that their teacher tells them. They know that safety and hygiene come first: no one should play with knives or cut fruit before washing their hands.
After establishing a kitchen etiquette, there comes the wonder of learning in the kitchen. It is a world of its own where everyday activities such as washing and cutting fruit, baking cakes, moulding bread dough and following recipes become tools for improving fine motor skills as well as numeracy and literacy. Baking cookies is much more than a fun activity, it is a learning adventure where each student is given the chance to take part in the many phases of the baking process. The teacher reads each step in the recipe, one by one, as the students follow instructions.
They measure each and every ingredient in the right quantity: they cut butter and weigh it on a scale to get the exact amount. They use spoons to get just the right amount of sugar and flour, and adjust the amount needed by using the scale. They break eggs and learn about solids and liquids as they see how hard the egg shell is versus the liquid white inside. A student might say it is “white and yellow”. And their teacher will ask “what do we call the yellow part?” If no guess is forthcoming, children will be told the official name. Children will repeat the name “yolk”, thereby adding a new kitchen word to their vocabulary.
Then the fun begins as the large bowls come out. There is a bowl for each group of 4 to 5 children. They will be asked to pour and mix the ingredients with spatulas. Students will take turns to choose one ingredient to pour into the bowl, then they mix it together until the mixture is well combined. They are often surprised to see the dry ingredients become a thick paste as they mix in the fluids. Then they use their hands to work with the thick mixture, coming to understand what texture means, while developing their fine motor skills. Before they scoop out the dough for their cookies and mould them into different shapes that are only limited by imagination, they add their favourite ingredients: raisins, nuts and chocolate chips - counting the little pieces one by one! They then place their sculpted cookie doughs onto the tray and into the oven with the help of their teacher. For the next 10 minutes they wait patiently for the oven bell to “ding”. This is a science experiment in action - chemical reactions occurring as the raw ingredients bubble and rise, and transform into baked cookies!
Skills learnt in the kindergarten are not simply limited to academic subjects (math, science, and language). They learn essential social skills as they work together, take turns, learn to respect one another, and develop patience, self-control and independence. They practise patience and learn self control as they wait for their cookies to bake and cool before they can eat. They get to be active learners in every stage of the process: from preparing the dough to baking, eating and even afterwards when they clean up the area and put everything in its place.
The kitchen environment creates a familiar environment for children to engage in authentic learning. Learners feel empowered and they build self confidence when they are trusted in this “grown up” environment. We scaffold this learning by ensuring that we set our children up for success. We think about what they are capable of in the different kindergarten age groups and we adjust our expectations accordingly.
The kindergarten kitchen also provides an excellent platform for kindergarteners to contribute to the wider school community. For example, kindergarten students are very excited to make cookies and share with the older students during Kindness Day. This learning space enables them to take action and take active roles within the CIS community.