Each day tamariki at Toybox Rawhiti are eager to help make our shared lunch. We have a main dish plus sandwiches and fruit. “I like sushi”, "We haven’t had muffins for ages”, "What about pasta surprise?” are the chants we hear as we decide what to make. Daily cooking, as part of our curriculum involves children preparing and making lunch. It allows children to have prior knowledge of what they will be eating, an insight to what foods look like in their original state and how they work together to create new foods (food technology). We value learning in context including, garden to table and back to garden, sustainability, hākari hosting and sharing of food, plus knowledge of insects and the natural world aspects contained within gardening. Our garden supplements our menu and even in winter we have herbs, kale, spinach, silver-beet and edible flowers to add to our dishes. Making our lunch promotes our children’s pro-social skills including conversations, sharing of tasks, eating as a group, table manners, clean up, responsibility for self and others. These opportunities for conversations will increase vocabulary and critical thinking as we talk about our recipe, ‘read’ food labels, identify what ingredients we have and looking at the characteristics of our vegetables. Children bring their own knowledge to the discussions by relating previous experience both at the centre and at home. This initiative links well with He Māpuna te Tamaiti, to support social and emotional competence of tamariki. Children know their contribution is valued by accepting challenges, calculation of risks, kaiako having confidence in what they can do and teamwork to build confidence and positive behavioral responses for our tamariki. Tamariki love processes and participation, especially in making sushi, southern cheese rolls, pinwheel scones, muffins, roti and dumplings as there are several steps to complete in preparation. Even our youngest 2-year-olds are keen to be part of this experience and astound us with their focus, perseverance and use of knives. Children who are observers get equal benefits by being part of a group and this situation is perfect for new children to the centre, helping to quickly establish relationships and their sense of belonging. Food texture and tastes influences our eating. Our initiative encourages children to take a risk to try something different. We allow children to deconstruct their food and eat the bits they are familiar with. This allows time to build their taste buds together with building a positive relationship with food. Allergies in food need to be considered, therefore traditional foods are often suitable and by making dishes from scratch allows you to substitute for common food allergies. We favor vegetarian dishes of dhal, curries, risotto and soups that are all easy ‘go tos’. We use tin fish and lentils instead of meat in our menu. Our worm farm and compost bin are a great source of learning as we observe the ecology of our natural environment. From tiger slugs, spiders, worms, flies, bees and other insects we learn all creatures have a role to ensure we live well, and children see themselves as kaitiaki to our world, by caring for Papatūānuku. MAKING OUR LUNCH By Cathy Catto, Toybox on Rawhiti August 2023 { 30 }
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