An Introduction
Edible projects are some of the most fun to create and experience. The sense of taste is one of children’s favorites to explore. The sensory activities in this chapter create amazing experiences which encompass all five senses. Children see the colors and beautiful creations. They can hear the sounds as we pour, scoop, and mix; as well as smell the wonderful ingredients. They can also analyze how the product changes when ingredients are added. Children touch and feel the textures of the various projects. Some are crunchy, some are soft and creamy, and some are sticky. Of course, the children’s favorite part, is the end result where they experience taste.
The projects incorporated into this chapter fully embrace both Montessori and Waldorf philosophies. The process of creating food is a basic skill that children love watching others do from a very early age. These activities benefits children in many ways that extend further than basic Sensory Experiences. These extensions include learning early math concepts through counting, measuring, and estimating. Fine motor skills are practiced as children pour, scoop, spoon, and mix. The process of cooking helps children with literacy development as they learn to follow directions, and explain what they think will happen as ingredients are added. Science skills are also embedded in the activities as children can predict what will happen, complete an activity, and then make conclusions. These are all valuable skills and all included in learning activities that are so much fun; you may not realize how much children are learning.
As with all activities, there are variations based on whether you are working with one child at home, a few children, or a classroom of children. For all children, whether with a single child or a classroom of children, you will need to ensure proper sanitation; including carefully cleaned materials, work surfaces, and washed hands before you begin any projects.
If you are working with one child, you can simply enjoy the process of creating and allowing the child to taste as you go. However, the design requires more care if you are working with small or large groups of children. You need to set up your sensory materials to ensure that children do not cross contaminate the edible materials. This often means creating small individual Sensory Experiences for each child. Depending on the activity, you may want to create a large project that each child is able to then have an individual serving, create completely individual projects, or something in between.
Children love small sized materials and projects such as the tiny bowls, utensils, and food pieces that fit easily into their small hands. If you want to locate small bowls, utensils, and other accessories you can find them in many discount stores or as specialty items in other stores. These are also readily available at online Montessori supply stores. Investing in a few of these fun pieces is a great way to expand your child’s enjoyment of the sensory projects in this chapter.
It isn’t a surprise that food projects whether simple, completed over time, savory, or sweet, are some of the absolute favorite projects for children to experience. Go ahead, dive into the messy fun of creating Sensory Experiences with food.