Written by Chloe Shoff and Abby Shaw
We constantly find ourselves in awe of the wonders that our learners share. This session in Wonder Lab (previously known as “project time”) we have been exploring the theme of “Culinary Chemistry”. We began by asking the learners what those two words meant to them. They drew pictures, connected their ideas, and ultimately made meaning of these words together.
This sense of wonder and curiosity has continued throughout the session. Through experiments and trying new recipes, like ice-cream in a bag, learners have become curious about how different foods are made and the science behind what happens when we cook. They have asked questions about everything from what makes something a solid, liquid, or gas to why certain ingredients change when heated.
One of the most exciting days our Discovery learners have is when we get to go to the magical home of Ms. Jenny, our Nature Specialist. The learners get to spend all day outside. They build a campfire, jump on the trampoline, swing, run around, forming connections and having fun together. All. Day. Long. It is a long and tiring day for everyone, but the memories and learning experiences that come from Ms. Jenny’s are irreplaceable.
We knew having a campfire would be the perfect opportunity to continue exploring the chemistry involved in cooking and get some fun, hands-on experiential learning. On our first visit of the session, we walked to the grocery store to get various ingredients and foods that could be roasted over the fire, such as marshmallows and crescent rolls. Yet the most exciting food to roast was not found at the store, but growing in Ms. Jenny’s chicken coop—squash.
At first, they were so enamored with the various shapes, sizes, and colors of the squash. But pretty quickly, they began investigating what they could do with the squash. They jury-rigged a grill over the fire and started chopping. They cut big round slices and small bite-sized pieces. They added salt to some and sugar to others, testing out different ways to cook the squash. The learners even began making custom “take-out” orders for one another! We saw a community built as learners taught each other new skills and excitedly built a restaurant together.
The following week, we thought we had it all figured out. We planned to make jam and cinnamon apples over the fire. We bought the ingredients, collected the proper materials, and made a specific plan. We shared the plan with the learners and explained that we’d call them over one group at a time to cook and observe. For many of the learners, pulling them away from their play was like pulling teeth. They would get to the fire and say something like “Am I done now?” or “Can I go back to playing?” However, there was one group of learners that lingered by the fire all day. These learners eagerly helped make the jam and cinnamon apples, but what they really wanted was the chance to do their own activity. They were patiently waiting for the guide-planned activity to be over. They had an even bigger plan for what they would do with the leftover ingredients, empty pot, and crackling fire.
Quickly, these learners got to work. We sat back and let this group of passionate learners take the reins. They diced up the rest of the apples, threw them into a pot, added some water, and waited for their mixture to boil. The way these learners moved around the fire, working alongside one another was inspiring to see. They worked out a plan, delegated jobs, and communicated all throughout their cooking session. By the end of the day, they had some homemade, deliciously earthy-tasting applesauce, ready to pass out to the parents at pickup.
As an educator, it can feel really disappointing when a planned learning experience lacks engagement or feels like a complete flop. In that moment as we were begging learners to come by the fire, that was how it felt. But after capturing the moments of the small group of learners creating and executing their own cooking experiment, we realized that the real engagement began when we stepped back and let the learners step up.
We’re not saying a plan is a bad thing. But we have felt the constraints a strict, scripted plan places on the curiosity of children. When we are able to observe and listen to our learners, we are able to adapt and allow time to explore and learn more about what they want to learn. This space to follow their curiosity communicates to the learners that their ideas matter. Their voice matters.
