Nourishment for the Soul

Cooking is an integral part of life at Rachel Keeling. The children harvest, shops for and prepare snacks and we regularly cook with children to enrich their experience at school. The past week has been no different with many cooking experiences and opportunities to share food as a group. As part of a mathematical focus in Bluebell, children made bread rolls and had mastered them the following day by adding cheese and making cheesy bread rolls. Whilst measurement, accuracy, number recognition and simple calculation were the main focus; concentration, using one handed tools safely and the art of conversation were also important aspects of learning which benefited. Children's independence was challenged when they designed and made their own pizzas to take home and share. Children were encouraged to prepare all the toppings and then make choices about the healthy topping they would like to enjoy. Our healthy cooking continued with children creating vegetable skewers to oven roast and share: they used up the last odd vegetables we had in the kitchen and persevered with the peeling and chopping. Finally on Friday, the children made a campfire in the garden and enjoyed some marshmallows (not so healthy!) which they toasted carefully. Only one child ate their marshmallow before toasting it!