Developing their Mathematical Skills

Making shortbread biscuits with Nursery Manager Kelly

It was time to develop those cooking skills at Daisykins Nursery in Rugby. The children washed their hands, rolled up their sleeves and waited patiently for the instructions to be given.Nursery Manager Kelly explained to the children that they were going to make their own shortbread biscuits by following a simple recipe all on their own. Each ingredient was held up and the children were asked what they thought it might be. One child said "You don't need to much sugar as your teeth will drop out"[ngg src="galleries" ids="242" display="basic_slideshow"]The children took it in turns to use the different sized scoops to add the ingredients, the children counted how many scoops of each ingredient they needed according to the recipe.After all the ingredients were added to the children's individual bowls it was time to mix it all together to form a dough consistency. As the children had made their own biscuit dough they compared the sizes of their dough with their friends. The words big, small, enormous, larger and smaller were overheard at the table.Kelly Nursery Manager of Daisykins nursery in Rugby asked the children to flatten their biscuit dough using the palm of their hands. The shape cutter was passed around the table to cut out their shape.As the biscuits went off to the oven to cook, it was time to reflect on what the children had made. The children remembered how many scoops of each ingredient they needed and could also name these. On collection, the children were very eager to show their parents what they had made.