Hungry for Harvest!

As part of Pre-School's Harvest and Autumn topic at Daisykins Nursery in Rugby the children have been expressing their inner chef as they cooked various scrumptious treats. This week's menu has featured; Vegetable Soup, Apple Crumble, Pumpkin Pies, Cheese Scones and many other delicious dishes!On Monday a group of children helped to make their own Vegetable Soup, adding the cooked ingredients into a blender. They then learnt how to operate it, taking it in turns to have a go. Once they had finished the soup was warmed up and they were able to try their creation. Next on the menu was Apple Crumble and the Pre-Schoolers made this on Tuesday. They were each given a piece of apple to cut up into small pieces  and this was then cooked to make it softer. While this was happening the practitioners gave the children flour, butter and sugar to add into individual bowls for them to make their own crumble topping. The children used their hands to rub all the ingredients together, which caused them to get very messy with sticky hands! Practitioners talked to them throughout the process about what they were doing and again they were able to taste the finished product once it had been baked in the oven.[ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="241" exclusions="2012,2014,2015,2016,2022,2023,2024,2025,2026,2027,2028,2029,2030" sortorder="2019,2020,2021,2013,2008,2009,2017,2011,2010,2018,2006,2007,2012,2014,2015,2016,2022,2023,2024,2025,2026,2027,2028,2029,2030" display_type="photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow" gallery_width="600" gallery_height="400" cycle_effect="fade" cycle_interval="3" show_thumbnail_link="0" thumbnail_link_text="[Show picture list]" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]On Wednesday it was time for their cooking lesson with Kelly and the children were able to make their own individual Pumpkin Pies. They were given the ingredients to make their own pastry and once this had been mixed together to form a dough they were encouraged to roll it out. Next, they used a pumpkin shaped cutter to make the two shapes using their dough, placing one onto a baking tray and the other to one side. The Pre-School children then blended the cooked pumpkin down to a paste, before adding a spoonful (or two!) onto their pastry and adding the second shape onto the top. The children were advised to pinch the edges together to stop the filling from leaking and these were then placed in the oven to cook. After the children got to take their Pumpkin Pie home and it was commented by some parents that they did in fact taste really yummy, which surprised a few!As part of their Harvest celebrations Pre-School have also been learning 'Cauliflowers Fluffy', a song that teaches children about the different types of food that are harvested at this time of year. Following their singing session on Thursday, the children enjoyed tasting the fruits and vegetables that are mentioned in the song. [ngg_images source="galleries" container_ids="241" exclusions="2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2013,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021" sortorder="2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2013,2016,2012,2014,2015,2023,2024,2022,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2027,2025,2026,2028,2029,2030" display_type="photocrati-nextgen_basic_slideshow" gallery_width="600" gallery_height="400" cycle_effect="fade" cycle_interval="3" show_thumbnail_link="0" thumbnail_link_text="[Show picture list]" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]Practitioners discussed with the children what the different fruit and vegetables tasted like. Some comments that were made included "That ones really yummy", "That one tastes lemony" and "That ones really sweet". The practitioner's favourite reactions were the children's faces when they tried the lemon! They were then asked which they liked the most and which ones they disliked, discussing their individual preferences. The Pre-School children here at Daisykins Nursery in Rugby have seemed to really enjoy becoming little chefs over the past week and taking part in new experiences. If you cook with your child at home we'd love for you to share your experiences with us, this could be through photos, adding comments to a home observation sheet or even bringing in something they've made to share with their keyworker! We look forward to seeing what else the Pre-Schoolers will make over the coming weeks and sharing these with you.