January 30th, 2019

This week, we introduced sand as a medium for children to make food.  Sand is incredibly versatile and can be poured, mixed, scooped, and patted down to fit a child's imaginary play.  As teachers, we focused in on the processes used by each child to move and manipulate the sand.  Documenting these strategies is important moving forward.  Some of these strategies will help inform the next time we cook "real" food in the church kitchen.

Ellie strategies included:

• Scooping from the lower container and collecting in a bowl
• Leveling off a measuring cup using a stick
• Pouring sand continuously in one spot, making a large pile
• Dragging sand from one side of the container to the other, making the pile larger
• Getting a larger bowl to accommodate more sand
• Using hands to gather more sand into larger bowl
• Using teaspoon to transport sand again, this time into a rectangular container

Each child approaches materials with different ideas.  Lane had different strategies.  She used two bowls, one holding the sand and one to alter the shape of the sand.  The small bowl in her left hand was used to make impressions in the sand.  When she pressed the bowl in right side up, the impression was concave; when she pressed the bowl the other way the sand form a hill (convex).  She used an ice cream scoop to serve her finished product.  she commented: "I want my cookies to drain.  It has to drain after.  I drain the cookies into the sand and I want it to go in this bowl."

Oliver's strategies:

• Dragging a measuring cup along the length of the container to maximize the collection of sand
• Offering food to Jen Azzariti when she arrived
• Collecting in a ceramic dish and pouring back out
• Collecting in a muffin tray
• Using strong muscles to cut the sand with chopping tool

(Oliver it was so great having you back today, we missed you!!)

Palmer, like Oliver, was interested in offering food to others.  He brought Jen his "sprinkle cake".  

​Grace continued her work from yesterday making "Pizza with yellow peppers."  She gathered the sand in the same dish from yesterday and patted it down.  "It sparkles," she said, noticing the bits of seashell in the tiny pieces of sand.  When this meal was finished, she moved on to the next course: "I'm gonna make soup.  It's vegetable with frog soup."

Ada: I'm making strawberry cake.  I put it in the oven.
Jen: What temperature will the oven go to?
Ada: Mine is gonna be five temperature.  Five is a warm temperature.  My mom tells me to eat it with a spoon.  Mine is strawberry cake that makes you so dizzy.
Melanie: Is it salty or sweet?
Ada: Mine is salty.

Fletcher used a variety of tools to manipulate the sand, include the ice cream scoop, the measuring cup, and a ceramic bowl.  He, like Lane, made impressions in the sand using the bottom of the ceramic container.  After filling the bowl and dumping it many times, he finally stuck a wooden chopstick in straight up and down.  Oliver said, "It's a birthday cake!" and he added a second candle.

Lastly, please enjoy some pictures of our first experience painting on a light table: