By Brianna Kirby, Teacher
In mid-October 2020, the East PM teachers introduced a squash-themed scavenger hunt in the classroom’s yard. With fall upon us, seasonal squash were abundant as usual, appearing at farmers markets, in grocery stores and on kitchen tables—as decoration and as dinner. We brought images of this festive and familiar symbol of autumn into the classroom, taping vivid images of a variety of squash to tree trunks, fencing, climbing equipment and playhouse walls. The children were thrilled to explore the outdoor classroom in search of the round, the striped, the bumpy and the colorful squash on their paper checklist. They delighted in discovering these hidden photos on their way to greet a friend and forged new and continuing social connections with their peers on this collaborative search through the yard.
“What’s this one called?”
“Do you have a clue for this one?”
“I found the delicata squash!”
“I know where that one is! Come!
I’ll show you!”
The following week, as children began to talk about pumpkin patches and falling leaves, we offered opportunities to make squash still-life drawings and leaf rubbings. The next week, we continued the seasonal theme and read Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller for story time. We also brought in some real versions of our scavenger hunt squash for the children to investigate. Some of the children even brought in squash to share with us, excited to identify them by name! At story time, we were impressed by the children’s newly acquired squash vocabulary: butternut, honeynut, delicata, acorn, kabocha, carnival and spaghetti (lovingly dubbed the “mango squash” by the children because of its resemblance to the oblong, pale orange fruit).
Four weeks after we began featuring squash in the classroom, we invited the children to measure them using rulers and to weigh them on a tabletop scale before dissecting their seeds and flesh on the patio later that week. The children also enjoyed planting their own squash seeds. With eager hands for scooping soil and delicate fingers for selecting seeds, we traveled backward from fruit (yes, squash are fruits) to seed in order to understand their origins. I was elated to hear some children share their stories of cooking and eating squash at home. They were so proud and excited to connect their classroom learning to their home experiences:
“We had acorn squash for dinner last night! And for lunch today!” exclaimed August and Victor.
“I saw a kabocha squash at the market!” Kai shared excitedly.
“My grandma is growing butternut squash in her garden!” Asha remarked with pride.
The following week, we continued to observe our squash plants. Approximately three weeks after planting, we discovered our first sprout, appearing in Teo’s delicata starter pot. This exciting discovery conjured memories of Sophie’s Squash, where Sophie plants her quickly expiring butternut “friend” into the soil and awaits a tiny sprout come spring. (Thankfully, we did not have to wait that long.) We soon had many sprouts to observe, which we continued to water and watch grow. Shortly after, we brought our small squash plants to the classroom’s garden beds, where we tucked them into their new communal home.
Our squash and planting curriculum moved from weeks of active, hands-on exploration to a more passive exercise in patience and observation of time while waiting for glimpses of emerging plant life. In the meantime, we busied ourselves with another soil-inspired project: preparing one of our garden beds for a new mud kitchen—a place where water, dirt and other natural materials are used as ingredients for dramatic play cooking. The first step was establishing a mud box to serve as a source of material for children’s kitchen creations. For this, we used a garden box that had been home to long-established plants heartily holding their own against the thirsty, relentless roots of nearby bamboo. The children cleared the box, transplanting the large rosemary, lavender and hydrangea plants it had held. Things got exciting when we discovered some stubborn bamboo roots in the newly excavated mud box. The children truly embraced getting muddy and digging in the soil. After preparing the mud box, we rearranged the outdoor furniture, including wooden crates and benches, and finally added some cookware to that corner of our yard so children could start their culinary mud exploration. This new addition to our classroom has benefited the children’s development in a variety of ways.
When school reopened in September of 2020, teachers and staff returned with a heightened sense of health and safety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A plethora of new policies were established, along with some restrictions on materials and activities normally offered for the children’s development in the classroom. These activities included the use of clay and play dough, the opportunity to cook with children in the classroom and other sensory-oriented activities that involved sharing tactile materials. As such, with the introduction of the mud kitchen, it has been exciting to see the children literally get their hands dirty (as well as their shoes, clothes, elbows, ear lobes ...). Sensory play invites children to physically engage with their learning, and the mud kitchen has provided a vibrant space particularly suited for hands-on play. The children explore concepts of chemistry when mixing wet and dry ingredients, much as we do when we have classroom cooking projects. They grow their large and small motor skills while digging out giant bamboo roots and delicately plucking herbs and flowers for culinary ingredients. Furthermore, they develop social connections by sharing materials, space and ideas.
With the open-ended opportunities for play offered by natural materials such as mud, water, leaves, sticks, rocks and plants, children explore the depths of their imagination and express their innate creativity. They freely play with mud (or sand, paint, water, etc.), and find themselves immersed in a rich, fulfilling, grounding world that inspires them to cook vegetable pizza, chocolate volcano ice cream and camouflage slop for protection from the imaginary “bad guys.”
After literally breaking ground in our new open-air mud kitchen, the children invested themselves in some elaborate recipe-making. Offering local, organic “fare,” the East PM Mud Kitchen menu boasts a delectable array of comestibles:
STARTERS
Grass Pea Soup
ENTRÉES
Spaghetti Green Beans
Plain Pasta
Christmas Feast
DESSERT
Rosemary Pudding with
Sweet Strawberry Pineapple Sprinkles
Strawberry Cupcakes with Frosting
and Rainbow Sprinkles
Christmas Vanilla Sprink
Vanilla Chocolate Mochi Cake
Sweet Mint Coating with a Little Chocolate
Chocolate-cados
Super Hotty Cake
The Chocolate Mint Cake with Crumbled Bark and Wood Chips
Mud Pie with Peas
Tiny Bit of Chocolate Chip Sprinkles
Chocolate Muffins
Peanut Butter Cookies
Milk Dark Bitter Dipping Chocolate
Lovely Cupcake Pink with Goopy Sour
Chocolate-Covered Almonds
Blueberry Muffins
Pumpkin Pie
BEVERAGES
Very Very Cold Icy Mint Water
If you’re ever so fortunate to visit this visionary corner of creative cuisine, be sure to request a seat at the chef’s table. I’d recommend a starter of the Grass Pea Soup, followed by some Plain Pasta. Be sure to save room for the expansive dessert selection. The classic Peanut Butter Cookies pair well with the Milk Dark Bitter Dipping Chocolate. Wash it all down with a refreshing glass of Very Very Cold Icy Mint Water, steamed by the sun on the top of an airplane!
We’re hoping to offer indoor, communal seating coming fall 2021.
Watch a video of play in the mud kitchen on Bing's YouTube channel.