A project on bread will provide the ingredients to deliver a range of stimulating learning opportunities across the curriculum.
Adult-led activity
In the night kitchen
Introduce children to the work of the baker through In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. In the story, Mickey falls through into the night kitchen, where three fat bakers are making the morning cake. So begins a dream fantasy.
Key learning intentions
*To develop an awareness of rhyme and rhythm
*To learn more about what people do
Adult:child ratio 1:6
Resources
*In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (Red Fox, 5.99) *a cake, scone and small loaf of bread *tray *soft butter or other spread *kitchen knife *paper plates Activity content
* Show the children the bread and cakes. Can the children guess where you bought them? Explain how some bakers and supermarkets have their own bakery within the store so that they can sell fresh bread.
* Name the bread, scone and cake, display them on a tray and explain that they might have been baked in a bakery the previous night.
* Share the story with the children. As you read, point to the words and discuss Mickey's actions.
* Emphasise the rhyming words, such as 'thump', 'dump', 'clump' and 'lump'.
Try putting a non-rhyming word in the sequence and see if the children can spot the odd word.
* Encourage the children to join in with repeated phrases, such as 'Stir it! Scrape it! Make it! Bake it!'
* Cut up and sample the bread, scone and cake. Suggest that they add butter or spread to the bread and scone if they wish.
Extended learning
Key vocabulary
Discuss the meaning of words from the text, such as racket, morn, dawn, batter, chanting, steaming, making, smelling, baking, kneaded, pounded, Milky Way.
Follow-up activities
* Visit a baker's and arrange for the children to visit the bakery If there is one on the premises. (Take all the necessary safety precautions when visiting.)
* Sing 'Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man' and 'Five currant buns in a baker's shop' with appropriate actions (see This Little Puffin, Puffin Books, 6.99).
* Make salt dough bread and cakes for a role-play baker's shop.
CHILD-INITIATED LEARNING.
Link the children's introduction of the work of the baker to their indoor and outdoor imaginary play.
Role-play
Additional resources
*White chef's hats and aprons *salt dough baked items such as loaves, teacakes and bread rolls *till *toy money *order books *telephone *bags *baskets *recipe books about bread making *role-play oven *baking tins *oven gloves *cooling racks.
Possible learning experiences
* Recreating roles and experiences of baker's work, inspired by In the Night Kitchen or by a visit to a baker's.
* Working co-operatively.
* Counting and using language associated with buying items and giving change.
The practitioner role
* Set up the baker's shop and screen off an area to represent the kitchen.
* Play alongside the children to encourage them to pretend to be bakers working through the night to prepare items for sale in the shop the next day.
* Visit the bakery to buy bread and encourage the children to count out items, take money and give change.
* Extend play by introducing a cafe area and invite the bakers to deliver their goods on trays.
Outdoor role-play
Additional resources
Wheeled toys and carts, trolleys, baskets, trays, salt dough bread and cakes.
Possible learning experiences
* Using talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking when acting as bakers delivering orders to imaginary customers.
* Sharing experiences with others.
The practitioner role
* Join in the children's play and suggest that the children pretend to be delivering freshly baked goods to shops and supermarkets.
* Send orders to the 'delivery' children on slips of paper, and set up an imaginary delivery area to receive them.
* Supply additional resources stemming from the children's ideas, such as plastic plates and bowls, and so extend play as it develops.
ADULT-LED ACTIVITY
The baker's oven
Encourage the children to create bread in their own version of the night kitchen.
Key learning intentions
*To observe similarities, differences and change
*To handle tools and malleable materials safely and with increasing control
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
*450g strong plain flour *1 level teaspoon salt *25g butter or margarine *15g dried yeast *1 level teaspoon caster sugar *300ml warm water *knob of butter *loaf tin *small bowl *large mixing bowl *wooden spoon *flour dredger *cooling rack *four pastry boards *tea towel *aprons Activity content
* This activity takes some time, so it is best to start it early in the day.
* Explain that you want the children to pretend to be the bakers in the night kitchen and make a loaf of bread. Ask them to wash their hands and put on the aprons.
* Help them to dissolve the sugar in the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on the top. Leave the mixture in a warm place for around ten minutes until the mixture is frothy. Look at and talk about the change in its appearance.
* Ask the children to mix the flour and salt in a bowl and show them how to rub in the butter or margarine.
* Make a hole in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture.
* Take turns to stir the mixture until it forms a firm dough. Add extra flour or water as necessary and discuss any changes that occur in appearance and consistency.
* Invite the children to dredge flour over their pastry boards and give each a lump of dough. Talk about Mickey from In the Night Kitchen kneading, punching, pounding and pulling the dough, and suggest that they do the same.
* Continue until the dough is smooth and stretchy, and show the children how to turn the dough and fold it over.
* Gather the lumps of dough into a ball, put it in the mixing bowl, cover it with a damp tea towel and leave it in a warm place for up to two hours until the dough has doubled in size.
* Knead the dough again, put it in a greased loaf tin and leave it for another 30 minutes to rise to the top.
* Bake the loaf in the middle of a hot oven for around 40 minutes, until it is brown.
* Leave it to stand for ten minutes and turn out on to a cooling rack.
* Slice the loaf and serve it at snack time. Talk about its smell, texture and appearance.
Extended learning
Key vocabulary
Yeast, rise, dough, knead, pound, pull, stretch.
Follow-up activities
* Once children have observed the process of making a loaf, save time in future activities by giving the children balls of dough to make their own bread rolls. The rolls can then be baked in just ten minutes.
* Experiment with yeast mixtures. What happens if the water is at different temperatures when the yeast is added?
* Demonstrate the use of technology by making bread in a bread machine.
Compare the machine-made bread and the children's home-made loaves.
CHILD-INITIATED LEARNING
Introduce some of the ingredients used in bread making into the creative area to widen children's sensory experiences.
Creative development
Additional resources
*Breads such as rolls, baguettes, chapattis *white and wholemeal flour *small containers filled with wheat grains, coarse flour *straw *ears of wheat *paint, crayons, chalk or pastels
Possible learning experiences
* Exploring the different effects that can be created by thickening paint with flour.
* Enjoying the sensory experience of handling a mixture of flour and water, or finger painting on a large washable surface using paint thickened with flour.
* Creating collages using grains of wheat and straw.
* Creating printing effects using different kinds of bread dipped in thick paint.
* Observing breads, grains and ears of wheat and creating observational representations.
The practitioner role
* Consider how the different types of bread used in the project can provide interesting opportunities for art and design, such as printing, collage work, observational drawings and painting.
* Encourage children to explore them freely.
* Talk to the children about how wheat is grown and ground into flour.
ADULT-LED ACTIVITY
Breads of the world
Taste different breads from around the world.
Key learning intentions
*To have a developing awareness of their own culture and to respect differences in cultures
*To respond to what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch
*To use mathematical language to describe size, shape, weight and quantity
Adult:child ratio 1:4
Resources
*A selection of breads from different countries, such as naan, ciabatta and pitta bread *paper plates *aprons.
Activity content
* Check for any allergies or dietary restrictions before the activity.
* Go to the supermarket with a small group of children to buy the breads.
Pick up any leaflets and posters about the breads.
* Invite the children to wash their hands and put on aprons.
* Discuss the size, shape and weight of the breads. Can the children say which is the longest, smoothest or heaviest?
* Discuss the appearance, ingredients, smell, texture and country of origin of each type of bread.
* Finally taste the breads, while continuing to compare how they look, feel, smell and taste. Which is the children's favourite? Why?
Extended learning
Key vocabulary
The names of the breads such as ciabatta, baguette and pitta; wholemeal; herb; crusty; soft; sliced; uncut; heavy; light; long; round.
Follow-up activities
* Visit websites to discover more about bread. Try the kids' pages on www.botham.co.uk, or www.breadrecipe.com.
* Make a graph of the children's favourite breads.
* Indicate the countries of origin of the breads tasted on a map of the world.
* Prepare toast and observe changes in colour and texture.
* Look at how bread is wrapped and stored. What happens to bread if it is left unwrapped for several days?
CHILD-INITIATED LEARNING
Provide opportunities for children to make models of different breads.
The dough table
Additional resources
*Kitchen utensils such as forks, a pastry wheel and cutters *white aprons and hats *baking tins *toy oven *oven gloves *whole grains *pictures of breads from around the world
Possible learning experiences
* Describing shape and size while shaping dough into different breads.
* Talking about similarities, differences and change while adding textures, such as grains, to dough.
* Handling tools, kitchen utensils and malleable materials with increasing control.
The practitioner role
* Encourage children to pretend to be bakers using baking and kitchen utensils with dough.
* Model language when joining play to encourage children to consider changes in how the dough feels, looks and smells.
* Supply a good variety of breads of different shapes and sizes so that children can make direct comparisons, for example, between a chapatti and a baguette. Encourage children to use mathematical language to describe them.