We are so lucky at Rachel Keeling to have developed positive relationships which have been long standing with local cultural groups. We again welcomed Step Out Arts to the nursery to share a day of celebration with our children. We welcomed the Year of the Rat in style with artefacts, instruments, costumes, music and dance. Children enjoyed joining in with ribbon dancing, fan dancing and the Lion Dance which moved around the whole school. Children created their own instruments and dances and some boxes were given new life in the following days as lion heads!
We love to celebrate festivals with our community and share the joy and excitement that these mean. Well-being is at the heart of our ethos at Rachel Keeling and as part of that, nourishment is central too. We are always looking at ways to ensure children develop a positive relationship with food and drink: seeing the self-service snack area as a social hub where rich conversations take place and where there will often be the sound of laughter and joy.
This week children were supported in researching recipes: they discovered a book about pancakes from around the world. They decided to start exploring healthy pancake recipes using a variety of books and the iPad. They found recipes for apple pancakes, vegan, sugar-free, courgette pancakes and carrot cake pancakes! There’s a whole world of pancakes out there for the taking! Shoppers of the week collated lists and went shopping for the ingredients. Across the week children were supported in measuring out the dry and wet ingredients: sometimes using cups and at other times using the digital scales. One handed tools were used to cut, chop, grate and mash ingredients and children were very vocal in sharing their observations of the process and the changes in state of the pancakes. Next week, some children are being supported to make pancakes independently: using a visual recipe and measure, mixing and cooking with minimal support. Watch out British Bake Off! |