2. The children are very interested in activities
related to cooking. So, to begin our inquiry, they
were asked to tell about their favourite dishes.
Here are their responses.
Blake – I like to eat butter chicken
Amelie – I like chocolate
Isabella- I like banana
Olivia- chocolate
Annie – I only like pasta
3. Exploring food through play dough activities
To extend children’s learning, experiences were
set at the play dough table, where the children
pretended to cook their favourite dishes.
4. Cooking experiences were also set up in the mud
kitchen where the children, used some natural
resources and indulged in socio dramatic play
5. Connections to the Early Years
Learning Framework
Children are confident and involved learners
The children were so
engaged in the activities in the
mud kitchen & the play dough area.
They made connections to their
experiences at home with what they
were doing in the mud kitchen & at the play dough
table. They worked as a team and experienced the
joy of shared cooking and playing.
6. The children were asked to think of the kind of
food, people ate in the olden days. These are
their thoughts.
Connor – they ate animals because there was no food
Blake – they ate crickets
Isabella – maybe some leaves
Amelie – I know… they ate worms
Annie - they ate soup… tomato soup
Maxwell – how about they went to the forests to pick some
blueberries.
7. Next, the children were shown an electric whisk and asked if they had seen it
before. Most of the children had seen it in their kitchens. The children were
brainstormed and asked how did people mix ingredients when there were no
electric mixers.
Connor- with some sticks
Charli- with their hands
Joshua- with fingers
Laura- they mixed very fast
8. We made a cake with children. The children used the hand whisk to mix
the batter together . They took turns to mix the batter and told us how they
felt, mixing with the whisk. They were even shown how the electric mixers
worked.
Connor- it’s very hard
Olivia- you have to mix very fast
Nevada- it’s tight
Jordan- (mixes very fast) mix like this
Jaxon – look, I’m mixing
9. The children were shown the old and new mixers. The electric blender was
opened and the children saw inside it. They touched its rotators and motor
and saw how it was operated. They were then asked to point out the
differences which they noticed between the two blenders.
Jordan- this one has no wire ( points out to the hand mixer)
Nevada – this one has a spinning thing ( points to the blades of
the electric mixer)
Sharika- there’s something round in this one ( points to the
electric mixer)
Connor – look, electric one has a button
Olivia – this one has no button ( points to hand mixer)
10. Which out of the two mixers do you think is fast and why ?
Connor – ( points to the electric one ) this one because its electric
Nevada – electric one because it has a spinning
thingy
Connar – electric, because it has a spinning wheel
Sharika- it has round circle, so it’s fast
Jordan- it has a battery ( points to the electric mixer )
Oliva- (points to whisk) this one is slow because we mix it with our hands
11. Connections to the Early Years Learning Framework
Outcome 5
Children are effective communicators
While exploring the old and the new blenders/mixers, the children
interacted verbally and non- verbally with each other
as they contributed their ideas and thoughts in the group discussion and
play. They even engaged in discussions as they drew out the
differences they spotted between the two mixers.
12. The children looked closely at both the mixers, they then drew both the
mixers and pointed out the differences between them
16. The children used hand whisks in various different
ways. They enjoyed mixing soap & water with it.
Here are their conversations.
Jordan – let’s mix very fast to make bubbles
Jaxon – is this a whiks ( whisk) for mixing ?
Danna – I’m mixing to make some cake
Annie – I’m making soup
17. The children also enjoyed mixing sand & water
with the whisks. They pretended to make a cake
mixture. We even added some chocolate colour
and essence drops.
Aluk – look ! I’m pouring in some flour (
pours sand)
Eva- we are making yummy chocolate
mixture
Seth- mix very fast
Eva- mix gently
19. In the mud kitchen children cooked & warmed their
food in the microwave. We talked about how
people cooked food in the past. These were their
thoughts.
Annie- they cooked it on fire, they
made fire like this ( rolls stick in palms
and blows air with her mouth on it )
Eva - Long long time ago, people
dug a hole and cooked food in it.
Isabella – I know ! they barbeque
20. The children also went camping near our creek. They
had many opportunities to explore more about
cooking practices. They showed us how people
cooked in the past.
22. Connections to the Early Years
Learning Framework
Outcome 2
Children are connected to and contribute to their world
While playing with the microwave in the mud kitchen and digging
holes to cook food underneath the ground, the children talked about
how cooking methods have changed now a days and how their
mummies cook in ovens and gas tops. They said that their mummies do
not make fire with sticks nor do they dig the ground to cook food. The
children were comparing the things from the world they live in now
with the olden days. They expressed their views on how things have
changed these days.
23. Possibilities
The children love to explore and spot out the differences between
the old and the new things. To extend their learning, we can show
them the modern style cutlery and that which was used in the olden
times
The children have a strong sense of well being. They celebrate their
success and that of others. Experiences can be set up, in the block
area, where they can work as a team to create things and
celebrate their achievements.
The children can also be shown old & new style pressure cookers.
