Cooking Week 4

Cooking Investigation: Week of October 15^th, 2012

This week we spent some time revisiting our dramatic play area.  The children have been introduced to some new terms pertaining to cooking so we were curious to see if their new knowledge would transfer into their play.  The children were provided with the same cooking utensils which have been provided in previous weeks.  These materials include some muffin tins, baking sheets, dishes, serving/mixing spoons, spatulas and measuring cups.  The materials were laid out on the dramatic play table, as well as placed in the cupboards in our “kitchen”.  The children were invited to play and explore with the materials as we have before.  What was most interesting was that the children talked at great lengths about using recipes.  Ms. Camardese asked the children what they were making and the most common response was “pasta”.  We searched for videos on the iPad about making pasta and tried to find some recipes to use in the future.  The children incorporated some of their new knowledge into their place, including words such as dough, kneading and mix.  They also talked about adding more flour and water.  Some of the children pretended to “transfer” their dough from the bowl to the muffin tins.  Others were still curious about the chefs in the video.  It seems some of the knowledge the children have gained over the weeks has been incorporated into their play.

Next week we will focus on making pasta using a pasta maker.  Ms. Camardese will bring the machine in from home so the children can explore.  It is our hope that by Friday the children will be able to make their own special pasta treat, with the help of a special visitor who is an expert at making pasta.  That special visitor is Ms. Camardese’s grandma will be coming in to assist and make pasta with the children.  We are very excited for this special treat!