In my opinion it’s important to teach our children a range of
life skills. We are lucky here in Winchester to be surrounded by a plethora of
opportunities for parents and their little ones and it’s great to have the option of taking part in such a range
of different experiences.
Last week we were lucky enough to join Ali in her fabulous
class, Tot Cross Buns. A cookery class for parents and they’re little ones
which gives everyone the opportunity to learn about food, flavours and cooking
nutritious snacks.
We arrived at Hyde Parish Hall to find a fabulous space which
was bright and welcoming. Ali was busy setting up the table on which there were an array
of inviting items. Bright coloured plastic bowls, spoons, knives, a rolling
pin, all neatly organised around the table. We were first to arrive and Boo
wanted to get stuck in! She enjoyed picking up the items and showing them to
me, naming them as we went and she was clearly excited when we were ready to
begin.
Choosing an apron was a fun task at start of the class,
closely followed by washing hands and choosing where to sit. When we had
decided on our places the investigation of the items became more intense and
everything was picked up, tried out and talked about.
The question most people have asked when I’ve talked about
the class is ‘yes but how much of it did they actually get to do themselves?’
The answer - all of it! Don’t under estimate these little people, they are
capable of quite a lot and even I was impressed by how much Boo could do on her
own.
We were making cheese and tomato twists, and my first thought
was ‘oh dear, Boo doesn’t like cheese or tomato’ which she eagerly declared!
Never mind... The ingredients were already weighed out for us, and we started
with rubbing the butter into the flour to make ‘breadcrumbs’ a technique used
in many recipes and one which is incredibly messy. The children are encouraged
to complete the steps themselves but you sit with them and help, guide,
encourage and take over as and when you need to. As with many things, my
instinct was to jump in and correct what she was doing, help her, speed it up,
keep her work area neat and tidy, and I was conscious not to do these things,
to let her explore herself, make a mess, get stuck in and enjoy herself - and
she did! Mixing in the egg and the cheese she could do easily with just a tiny
bit of assistance, then the moment she’d been waiting for, time to use that
rolling pin!!
It was great to watch her learning new skills and hear the
praise offered from Ali to all the children in the class as they were preparing
their food. Even though we do a lot of cooking at home, there’s not always time
to let Boo do it all herself, or I’m so worried about the mess I just jump in
and take over, or there are steps I don’t think she can do as she’s too young,
this class was proof that toddlers and cooking are far more compatible than you
think. We all dream about the day when our little ones can finally make that
cup of tea for us, and why not a cake to go with it too?
The sundried tomato paste and more cheese were the next
steps, then to twist them. I’ll admit, I did the twisting, partly because Boo
had decided she didn’t want to sit still any more and had started charging
around the open space - I must remember she is only two!
Whilst our delicacies were cooking I was pleased to find that
we were continuing our food journey for the day and there was to be a tasting
session. Snacks! Well that got Boo back to her seat . We ate our way
through the colours of the fruit and vegetable rainbow, tomato, carrot, banana,
kiwi berries, blueberries and pink grapefruit. Each child was given a bowl to
try and were encouraged to explore new flavours. There’s me thinking she only likes
two or three of those, and Boo sits there and munches her way through
everything apart from the tomato - I was very glad I didn’t do the ‘Mum’ thing
of saying ‘you don’t like that’ and reminding her. It’s really hard with a
toddler and food but the language you use can both encourage and discourage
exploration of flavour and texture in an instant. It is said that children have
to try food between 10 and 15 times before they know if they like it, and as
adults we know our tastes change. I bet we can all name at least two things we
eat now that we would refuse to eat as children! Mashed potato for
me! So be careful next time you go to say ‘you don’t like that do you?’ which
I’m definitely guilty of doing. they might surprise you... it was incredible to
see Boo munching on a segment of pink grapefruit.
A knowing ‘ping’ from the oven meant our twists were ready!
Out they came and each child’s creations were popped into a bag to ‘take home’.
We had made five twists, one for all the family to try and two for Daddy...
well that was not to be, three had been demolished by Boo before we’d got back
to the car!
Helping to clear away was next, much to my delight, more
important skills being encouraged! We very much enjoyed our time in the class
together, the little one slept (again) and I was able to enjoy some quality
time with Boo.
Many of us may already cook with our little ones at home, and as
adults we may enjoy cooking - when we have time! But some of us may dread the
thought, it might not be our thing, cooking with a toddler might fill us with
fear, Ali’s class is a safe, fun way to explore food, learn new recipes, learn
skills and enjoy an activity with your little one that prepares them for life.
Who knows, in 20 years time it might be their turn to host Christmas lunch and
if it is, you’ll be thankful of their knowledge of food and cookery!
If you are interested in joining Ali’s classes please check
out their Facebook page or contact her on: https://www.facebook.com/totcrossbuns/
Classes take place on Monday in Winnal and Hyde on Fridays.
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