Food Tasting, Cooking, and Practical Life Skills

During the first week of school, Classroom 3 sat down for their first food tasting experience. They selected blueberries as their initial offering, a food familiar to all learners in the classroom. With the children being new to school routines, their teachers naturally assumed it would be a short and simple first experience. However, as they began to talk about where blueberries grow and what they look like, it became very clear that the group was hooked and there was no need to make it a short first experience. The children sat attentively with wide eyes and had so much to say about blueberries! They were eager to share all they knew about blueberries and learn more about blueberries through this hands-on process. 

Cooking and food tasting are great ways to introduce and practice practical life skills with young learners. Practical life activities are designed to lay a foundation of knowledge for everyday tasks such as cooking and cleaning. At The Washington Market School, we put an emphasis on practical life and empower learners to engage in activities that promote independence within a structured environment. Through these activities, the children learn how to care for their environment and connect with their peers to develop the muscles for emotional agility and thoughtful citizenship.

Since the first blueberry tasting, Classroom 3’s, cooking experiences have allowed them to come together as an enthusiastic community to learn more about familiar and new foods. Each week, they aim to cook with the food they tasted last week. This creates consistency and a sense of order which helps learners make a connection to their past experiences. Using a variety of cooking techniques and tools engages the children and different fine motor skills such as scooping, mashing, stirring, spreading, and more. As they try new foods and follow new recipes, the children have been supported by their peers with encouraging words. They have also found the self-motivation to be brave even when feeling unsure. 

“I did! I tried a bite!”

“That was close. Try again! You can try again!”

“I didn’t really like it but I ate it.”

“Try with two hands.”

How do we keep track of each child’s food preferences? 

One of the ways that the children have been eager to share their thoughts and opinions on a food is a voting chart. For some of the fruits or vegetables they try, there have been multiple types/colors, different parts of the food to try, or several types of preparation. After food tasting, the children have used a sticker with their face on it to select their favorite! The voting charts are then displayed on the classroom door for the children to observe and show their grownups.

How do we maintain this genuine excitement about trying new foods throughout the school year? 

The teachers document the classroom community’s food tasting and cooking journey in several ways. A rainbow wall organizes the fruits and vegetables the children have. Clay models of those same fruits and vegetables are available on the dramatic play shelf. A laminated book documenting visuals of the food tasting, cooking, real food, and clay food for each different fruit and vegetable along with a blank page and dry erase markers are available on the language shelf. Cooking books that tell the story of their different cooking sessions are available on the bookshelf and have also been sent home with each child. As the children engage with these materials or are eating snack and lunch, the teachers are always observing, gathering ideas for future experiences, and sometimes they just ask…

“What should we have next for food tasting?”