Learning to Cook from Fresh Vegetables in the Garden

Ever since Ms. Pauline realized there was a garden behind the day care she works at in Massachusetts she thought the children should have a part in it. After inquiring about the garden, she found that she could use the zucchinis grown in the garden and teach the children how to cook zucchini bread.

“I was inspired by Planting Progress.” She said

“I saw a garden in the back of the day care and thought to myself, the children need to learn where their food comes from.  So I decided to show them.” Ms. Pauline said.

The children made zucchini bread and according to Ms. Pauline, “They came to school the next day really excited about what they had done.  A few of them wanted the recipe to take home to their parents.”

This was just the beginning of cooking in their classroom.  After the success with the zucchini bread, a teacher brought in corn and taught the children how to husk it.  They then learned how to cook the corn and had it for lunch.

“When I saw all the fresh corn we were going to have for lunch, I thought the children would like to know how to prepare it.  I put out newspapers on the floor and taught the children how to peel the stalks.  Many children had never done this before and I thought they should learn how.  I think that made them enjoy eating the corn that much more for lunch” Ms. Pauline said.

With both projects being such a success with the children, a few teachers at the day care have decided to teach them how to make tomato sauce.

“One of the teachers has a lot of fresh tomatoes from her garden.  We plan on using those as well as the fresh oregano and basil I have from my garden.  We can show the children the different herbs and they can learn the smells and how to identify them.” She explained.

Although Ms. Pauline doesn’t believe she is doing much, she and the other teachers at her day care are shaping the minds of the children at her school by the way they identify with the foods they are eating.