This week:

This week our theme was Literacy in the Kitchen and what fun we had! With the generous support of teachers from St Francis Xavier and our wonderful volunteers, we had our own version of Masterchef. On the menu was a vegetable pasta salad, croutons and banana bread, which the parents and older children worked in teams to prepare. We had lots of rich conversation around the importance of hygiene in the kitchen, names of implements and cooking methods whilst understanding how to follow a recipe.

Whilst the older set was whipping up a delicious dinner and learning the names of new foods, our Kindy, year 1 and year 2 students were baking up a storm and learning the finer art of not over mixing scones, whipping cream and that we don’t touch the hot oven without adult supervision. Collecting the correct ingredients from the cupboard, measuring accurately and following a recipe added to the children’s practical literacy and numeracy skills. Many of the students had never had the opportunity to bake and so the level of excitement was very high!

Angela and Jann entertained the littlest ones (13 months to 5 years) with picture books about food which, together with the delicious smells wafting from the kitchens, made us anticipate dinner even more. We set up a ‘shop’ with a vast array of plastic food stuffs, little shopping baskets and a till with pretend money with which the children actively engaged. The names of different fruit and vegetables were a focus as we tried to send a healthy eating message as well.

At last we got the call to come and eat! We all sat around and sampled the fruits of our labour with many a sceptic being turned into a fan of foods they had not tasted before. The evening was full of fun, fellowship and conversations around food, which made the vast quantities of kitchen equipment to be washed up all worth it!

Next week we are looking at supporting your child’s reading at home.