10: From Farm To Table
"In winter's chill or summer's heat,
farmers work so the world can eat."
The concept of farm to table is something that has been around for a long time. Recently, it is embraced by many people due to its connection with living a healthy lifestyle. The concept is simple: buy local. At the same time, get to know the farmers who put food on our table, and appreciate their importance in our communities.
Last week, the Kindergarten children had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a farmer by harvesting sweet potatoes in a small patch of land near the school. This week, after much anticipation, they were able to turn their harvests into a scrumptious snack, and enjoy it with their friends.
The children had a lovely picnic under the shade of a big tree, all proud of the tasty treats that they made with their parents.
It’s part of our classroom library that’s rich with information about food sources and the importance of food to our well-being. The children even started getting some answers to their inquiries through the book called Questions and Answers About Food. Check out the answer to my inquiry when we sliced onions in class a few weeks ago!
The children revisited our animal friends by connecting it with our unit on the different seasons. We went out for a walk with our friends from Kinder 1 to collect some leaves that have fallen from the trees. Autumn is truly here!
We got inspiration from Pinterest (one of my favorite sites!) and tried to recreate different animal images using the leaves that we collected. The children created a myriad of autumn colored animals — all from natural materials! They’re absolutely beautiful.
Pinterest Inspiration:
The children always enjoy talking about animals but this week, we highlighted our inquiry on just two: cows and chickens, specifically their food products — dairy and poultry.
We had a surprise visit from two reMOOrkable friends who taught us how to farm the milk that we drink, from its source. The children had an amazing time milking the cows and filling their buckets with delicious dairy products!
We wanted to see what we can do with the “milk” we collected, so the children experimented what would happen if they put it in a jar and shook it vigorously for about 20 minutes! The energy they used for shaking was worth it. Not only were they able to exercise their arms, they were able to create butter, too! All the children brought home a sample. Were you able to try it out? 😊 (Note: it's made from whipped cream.)
Our chicken friends also gave us a few mysteries to solve this week for our inquiry and our story workshop.
Have you ever wondered how strong egg shells are? Wonder no more, as we tested it out in class! The children all agreed that eggs are fragile. They know that once you drop an egg, its shell will scatter into pieces. But what if instead of dropping it, you will place heavy things on top of it?
We started off by looking for the heaviest book we could find in the classroom. It didn't produce a single crack, and all the eggs were kept intact.
The next challenge I gave to the children surprised them: what will happen if you will stand on the eggs? They thought my suggestion was ridiculous, but they learned — with much amazement — that eggshells are strong enough to carry their weight! Even my weight, actually! (Trivia: the dome shape of the eggs allow the force to spread around it, which in turn makes it sturdy. Cool, right?)
The children also had a chance to see what’s inside an egg and to differentiate the yolk from the egg white. They know that we can make different food from this produce, like omelettes and cakes!
To connect to our inquiry on choices, I shared a story with the children called The Good Egg by Jory John and Pete Oswald. It’s about a kind and principled egg who’s part of a dozen, and whose friends often make red choices. The children unlocked new words from the story — and came up with words that connect with being kind and principled. We created our own good eggs in class — our class pets for the week — so that we will be reminded that our choices matter, and that we all have goodness inside all of us.
For our story workshop this week, we tried to answer the ultimate mystery:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
With the use of technology -- and the help of Ms. Pam, of course -- we recorded the children’s answers to this question. Their stories are humorous — from chickens eating lemons to chicken buying eggs from the shop! Have a watch:
The chicken crossed the road to climb the tree.
Then, the chicken flew to the sun.
The chicken crossed the road to ride the bus.
The chicken crossed the road because it saw a bear.
It met the bear.
The chicken was happy.
The chicken crossed the road to go shopping.
It will buy some eggs in the shop.
The chicken crossed the road to go home.
Mommy cooked some sweet potatoes.
The chicken crossed the road because the cloud was beautiful.
He saw bird.
He flew away with the bird and the beautiful cloud.
The chicken crossed the road to buy lemons from the grocery.
They went back to the road and ate the lemons.
They said, "Phew!"
It was sour.
The chicken crossed the road to go to the supermarket.
It met another chicken.
They said hello.
They danced.
The chicken crossed the road to visit Mommy.
The chicken crossed the road again and again.
The chicken wants to go to the mountain.
The chicken crossed the road because the baby was crying.
It was truly an experiential and fun week for the Kindergarteners — one that allowed them to appreciate the food they eat and give thanks to the farmers that feed us.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Your Kindergarten teacher,
Pam
P.S.1. I discovered that the children love BTS. I am not updated with K-pop trends, but it seems like the children love it very much -- so I granted their request and let them dance to BTS today.
P.S.2. Look at the results of our bread experiment last week. Some of the bread are beginning to form mold! 😱 We'll wait for another week or two to finalize our observations.
Comments
Post a Comment