We can truly feel autumn in the air now as the sixth grade math/science classes finish their eight-week introduction to the garden. The students, who will return to the garden in January, will spend the rest of their time before the winter recess exploring the kitchen classroom with their humanities teachers.
On their first day in the kitchen, the sixth graders meet Ms. Cook and Ms. Thomas, then fill out a short hand-written survey:
1. What is something you already know how to make by yourself?
2. What is the most unusual vegetable you have ever eaten?
3. What is your favorite and least favorite chore in the kitchen?
4. What is something (not a dessert) that you would love to learn how to make?
5. Please tell us one interesting fact about yourself.
On the backside of the survey, there is space for each student to write and draw in more depth about one of his/her favorite fruits or vegetables. We receive many delightful and illuminating responses. (The students are small, but their personalities are big!) One student wrote: “Mangoes are my favorite fruit. They are so good, especially dried mangoes. I could eat one million mangoes because they are so yummy. They taste like heaven.” Another wrote: “My favorite fruit is the tomato, because you can make salsa with it. Another reason I like tomatoes is because they taste good plain. Also, I like tomato sauce. One more reason I like them is because they have a lot of vitamins.”
Ms. Cook teaches the students to line up quietly outside the kitchen door before class, to store their things in cubbies, to put on an apron, and to wash their hands before the opening chefs’ meeting. She takes the students on a visual tour of the convection oven, the recycling and composting area, the cooking stations, the storage cabinets, and the spice table. Ms. Thomas introduces them to the flat-top griddle, the metro shelving, the bussing station, the refrigerator, the piano, the washing machine, and our industrial-strength dishwasher. The students have a chance to marvel at all the wonderful new things to look at and ask questions about tools or other objects they have never seen before. After a garden snack and a closing reflection, the sixth graders are ready to begin cooking on their next visit!
A flag from Alice hanging above the dish station
The aprons students wear during class
The bussing station
Dried strawflowers decorating the piano
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The Sixth Grade Kitchen Orientation
We can truly feel autumn in the air now as the sixth grade math/science classes finish their eight-week introduction to the garden. The students, who will return to the garden in January, will spend the rest of their time before the winter recess exploring the kitchen classroom with their humanities teachers.
On their first day in the kitchen, the sixth graders meet Ms. Cook and Ms. Thomas, then fill out a short hand-written survey:
1. What is something you already know how to make by yourself?
2. What is the most unusual vegetable you have ever eaten?
3. What is your favorite and least favorite chore in the kitchen?
4. What is something (not a dessert) that you would love to learn how to make?
5. Please tell us one interesting fact about yourself.
On the backside of the survey, there is space for each student to write and draw in more depth about one of his/her favorite fruits or vegetables. We receive many delightful and illuminating responses. (The students are small, but their personalities are big!) One student wrote: “Mangoes are my favorite fruit. They are so good, especially dried mangoes. I could eat one million mangoes because they are so yummy. They taste like heaven.” Another wrote: “My favorite fruit is the tomato, because you can make salsa with it. Another reason I like tomatoes is because they taste good plain. Also, I like tomato sauce. One more reason I like them is because they have a lot of vitamins.”
Ms. Cook teaches the students to line up quietly outside the kitchen door before class, to store their things in cubbies, to put on an apron, and to wash their hands before the opening chefs’ meeting. She takes the students on a visual tour of the convection oven, the recycling and composting area, the cooking stations, the storage cabinets, and the spice table. Ms. Thomas introduces them to the flat-top griddle, the metro shelving, the bussing station, the refrigerator, the piano, the washing machine, and our industrial-strength dishwasher. The students have a chance to marvel at all the wonderful new things to look at and ask questions about tools or other objects they have never seen before. After a garden snack and a closing reflection, the sixth graders are ready to begin cooking on their next visit!
A flag from Alice hanging above the dish station
The aprons students wear during class
The bussing station
Dried strawflowers decorating the piano