In Lincolnshire, speech and language tops many early years practitioners' list of concerns, followed closely by writing skills, while children's centre teams have also identified obesity as a major problem. However, a team in Boston is now working in partnership with a local school to support home learning and healthy living.
A reception class teacher from Old Leake Primary and Nursery School worked with a teacher from Old Leake Children's Centre to plan a four-week programme of cooking sessions for the reception class children, their parents and siblings.
In each session, the parents helped their child make a simple recipe. Initially they were encouraged to support their child through modelling the skills involved, and later to have the confidence to allow their child to complete the tasks as independently as possible. This proved daunting for some parents who would never have dreamt of allowing their four-year-old to grate cheese or chop vegetables with a sharp knife. However, with support and reassurance, all the children had fun developing new skills and completing all the tasks successfully.
During these weekly sessions, parents also had opportunities to explore how they could enhance their children's learning experiences at home through everyday items. For example, the discarded ends of vegetables were used to print table mats. Children were encouraged to use their senses to explore and talk about different fruits. This, in turn, highlighted to parents the need to have everyday conversations with their children about the world around them.
In addition, each session was linked to a book to reinforce the opportunity that books give for parents to spend quality time with children. Parents and children sat together to listen to tales such as Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne after making fruit kebabs and Oliver's Vegetables by Vivian French during a session making vegetable soup.
ADDITIONAL BENEFIT
After the success of the initial programme, the sessions were extended to include the school's nursery children and their families. These sessions provided the same support to families and had the additional benefit of easing the three-year-olds' transition to reception.
As well as building up a relationship with the reception class teacher, the children were able to meet Louis, the puppet. Louis is part of every early years setting and reception class in Lincolnshire and has proven to be a useful tool in easing children's transition to school.
Pre-school children get to know Louis in their setting and he plays a big part in their Personal, Social and Emotional Development, particularly with sharing, making friends and trying new experiences.
On arrival in their new reception class, children are reassured by the presence of Louis as one of the class members and he continues to support their development skills throughout the Foundation Stage.
Generally, parents reported that they enjoyed the experience of cooking alongside their children and that they had witnessed a positive effect at home, with children showing an increased interest in preparing meals.
Families appreciated the opportunity that their children had to try new foods, without the fear of wasting them, as all costs were met by the children's centre. Linking the food to stories was also seen as beneficial in encouraging their children to eat fruits and vegetables.
