Before the half-term break, our two Kindergarten classes embarked on an exciting local trip to Cambridge market. Armed with 50p each, the children were keen to select vegetables to buy to be chopped up and made into homemade soup upon their return to school.
It was so exciting visiting the market in Cambridge and I saw lots of different colours of vegetables. I used the bridge to help me cut up a tomato and we all made yummy soup. The bridge helps you cut safely as your fingers and thumb are the bridge and the knife cuts underneath.
The children collaborated to transform their choices into a delicious and hearty soup that everyone enjoyed tasting! This involved the children learning how to peel and cut up the vegetables they had purchased safely and how to follow instructions in order to prepare and make the soup.
Learning how to hold a knife and cut ingredients safely is a fundamental cooking skill that our Kindergarten are learning to master. The children learnt two important cutting techniques, the 'bridge' and the 'claw'. For harder ingredients like carrots and courgettes the 'claw' position came in handy and the 'bridge' was perfect for vegetables with a curved edge, such as tomatoes.
This experience combined lessons in money management with outdoor adventure, seasonal vegetable education, food preparation and kitchen safety. Kindness, sharing and collaboration were also essential as the children patiently waited their turn to chop the vegetables whilst offering to help tie up each other's aprons.
I bought a courgette with my 50p coin, I have never bought vegetables from the market and it was fun. I chopped up a big red pepper and our soup was super tasty!