Planned Activity: This morning I planned to do a cooking experience with the children. I went to the kitchen and sourced out some ingredients, we used flour, salt, sugar, coconut and some water. I sat the children down with a bowl and spoon each. The children were so eager to begin. I handed out the cup of sugar first, the children poured the sugar into their bowls one by one. I then gave them a little taste of the sugar. "Yum" said Elya and Hunter. Aladeng didn't really respond. Next we put in some flour Nathan was so eager that he jumped in front of Elya but Elya was not worried she waited her turn. We put salt in next and this time I also asked the children if they would like to taste the salt. Hunter tried first loving the taste. where as Elya pulled a face as did Aladeng. The children mixed the ingredients together. I then gave the children some water to put into their bowls. They liked this as it started to make a paste, the more water we added the more they wanted to add some flour. Hunter loved the idea of it getting thicker. We then decide to add some colour. Hunter chose the yellow food dye, Elya wanted green, Aladeng wanted the yellow and Nathan green, Mila was happy to just stir her master piece. As the children mixed their colours into the flour they noticed how it changed from white to the colour of the dye they chose. Elya was fascinated calling out "Woo, see my one its green". Hunter and Nathan mixed and mixed till it became really thick. Kylie came over and noticed the play and said to Hunter "look you could make your own play dough". Hunter thought this was fabulous and picked up the dough then started to mold in together but after a while his hands became sticky so he called out "oh, sticky "yuck" we all laughed. Little Ezekaiah wanted to join the group so we handed over the bowl Mila was using as she decided the spaghetti play was for her. Ezekaiah loved the idea of mixing the dough in the bowl with some help.After a while the children had enough so it was time to pack away and wash our hands. Over on the stage we put out some spaghetti for the little ones to explore. Natalia was having so much fun eating and playing with the spaghetti. Elisha loved the feel of the spaghetti holding it in his hands and moving it about. Ezekaiah started to eat the spaghetti. Maryanne helped Jayla to play with the spaghetti.
Link to Pedagogical Documentation
EYLF Outcomes
Outcomes: 4: Children are confident and involved learners Elements: 4.1 Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity. Children were able to engage in this experince with wonder and creativity.
Theorists
This learning experience can be linked to Dewey's theories. He believes that the education of young children is child-centered, active and interactive.
Interpretation
Critical Reflection: The experience went really well with the children engaging in the experience with such joy. They were able to use their words to tell us their choice of colour to use. They were able to turn take while tasting different ingredients and just get their hands dirty. Follow up: More cooking experiences.
