During the month of February the toddlers started to play with some toys pretending they were making coffee, tea and cookies. The educators used this interest to turn our dramatic play area into a tea shop using this opportunity to introduce math and literacy through different activities and sensory play.
Debbie brought a tea set and set it out on the table to see what sparked the children’s interests. They started to pretend to pour some tea from the tea pots and stirring it with the spoon. Debbie created a chart which showed the children the steps to brew tea. Saylor look at the instructions and took the teapot to the sink pretending to filled it with water. The teapot then sat on the stove top to boil. When it was finished they pretended to pour out the tea and mix the milk and sugar in. (This demonstrated they understood that by following the instructions they would be able to make tea.) They gathered some food and started to make each other lunch and dessert.
Incorporating food preparation into the day gives children the opportunity to connect with their food. Vanessa had the children follow a recipe to make a cookie mixture. They had to measure the ingredients using the measuring cups and spoons (introducing fractions) and add them in the correct order. Once baked the children were given bread knives and icing to decorate their cookies. It took some time but they were successful in spreading the icing and putting sprinkles onto their cookies. Holding and using a knife helps develop hand muscles and dexterity needed for writing and giving them a “real” knife helps children to learn that they are capable and trusted.
To help the children learn about volume, Maria created a sensory experience for the children using the tea set and herbal teas. She added water to a tray with the teapots and cups demonstrating how to pour the tea slowly so it didn’t spill over the side. This challenged the children to understand volume of containers- the teapot held more water than the cups-so they had to focus on how they poured the tea or it would spill. When they started pouring the tea it did spill as they were dumping the water but as the practiced and slowed down the children were able to successfully pour the tea without spilling (too much!)
