FROM THE EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
Paul Siamos, Aidan Ballesty and Sebastian Lydon celebrating our first harvest of lettuce
James Lipchin, Samuel Tai, Henry Stevenage, Oliver Lipchin, Axel Fedele and Darcy Mincu
Bruce Sun, Jack Kearney and Jack Lauber making soup with Miss Hall
Jayden Li-Wang and Tavish Cooper checking for bugs
Dimitri Sofiadellis and Alex Xu documenting the growth of plants
Brett Stewart and Loretta Iliov demonstrating cooking skills
‘If a child is regularly engaged in activities in the garden and kitchen, and is invited to the table and encouraged to taste and learn about nutrition, they will grow to embrace fresh, seasonal flavours and understand much about the natural world and how to relate to others; that child will look forward to a healthy future.’ – Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation With this philosophy in mind, all children and staff at the Early Learning Centre have embarked on a long-term project of establishing a thriving vegetable garden and growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing food. We hope these experiences help form positive food habits and encourage the children to appreciate the natural seasonal cycle of growth in our gardens. The vegetable garden was set up in Term 2, with the children helping to cultivate a variety of winter plants and herbs. Seeds were germinated, seedlings planted and their progress has been carefully observed and recorded. From many discussions relating to the care of plants, the children have learnt that they need sun, water, air and nutritious soil to thrive. One of the many pleasurable aspects of growing your own vegetables is using them in your cooking. For young children, being involved in the preparation and process is of greatest interest, and, throughout Term 3, many cooking experiences using seasonal vegetables, fruit and herbs were a highlight of our busy days. There are many skills to be shared and the children are eager to learn.
We work with small groups so that the experience is one where the children can actively participate, and acquire the techniques relating to each recipe. They are carefully supervised at all times and understand that even if they are not the ‘chefs of the day’, they will have the opportunity to taste whatever has been made. ‘Having a taste’ is encouraged and it is interesting to note that over the term many children have become more adventurous. We have been very fortunate to have had the support of parents, grandparents and Trinity staff for several of our cooking sessions and we sincerely thank them for their involvement. This support validates the importance of using fresh and nutritious ingredients and provides very positive role models for the children. The children are always curious about the garden, nature, growth and the bugs discovered outdoors. The vegetables are flourishing, and the Four Year Old Group has been investigating ‘Friends or Foes’ in order to protect the vegetables and herbs from being eaten by the ‘foes’. This is developing further their sense of appreciation and responsibility for the garden; as the children water the plants and carefully examine the leaves and flowers, they make interesting observations about what they see and think is happening in relation to the cycle of growth, in terms of colour, texture – and eventually, taste. ELC staff members have benefited greatly from attending Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation workshops and, together with groups of very enthusiastic children and their families, we intend to make this project an integral and ongoing part of our program. GENEVIEVE READ Director of the Early Learning Centre
THE TRINITY GRAMMARIAN | Vol 32 No 3
5