Description:
As the weather starts to get colder, we made a fire this week and taught the children how to cook a lovely warming vegetable soup.
Links to EYFS:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding of the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Activity:
This very popular activity allowed us to talk about making a fire in a safe way, what rules to follow when preparing the fire and what equipment was required. Making the vegetable soup enabled us to talk about healthy eating and why we need to eat well. Each child had their own task in order to prepare the soup. They needed to wash the vegetables, peel them and cut them into cubes. This helped to increase their fine motor skills and encouraged them to take on new challenges as well as thinking about how to do it safely.
Health and safety aspects associated with this activity:
We explained to the children how to act when there is a fire
Why it’s important to walk around the fire and not run
Why they needed to walk around the outside of base camp and not through the middle of it
What was needed to make the fire
Why we need all the equipment to be ready and close by
How to look after the fire once it's been started
Why it was necessary for one practitioner to stay by the fire at all times
How to safely put the fire out
Regarding the cutting vegetables, we taught them:
How to do it safely
How to use the knife safely
The distance they need to be from the person using the knife
What to do with the knife once they finished using it
How to use the peelers
Home Activity:
If you haven't tried it already, do some homemade cooking with your child. Children love to get involved and help out. You could show then how to cut vegetables, roll pastry or whisk some eggs.
Here are a few recipe ideas to get you started from the BBC Good Food Guide which includes lots of vegetarian and vegan options:
