Many of my hours are spent contemplating how to nourish 45 children. All of these children are under the age of six. i believe that the majority of our eating habits (as well as the fundamentals of our relationship with food) are well formed by the time we begin to lose baby teeth. With that fact in mind it is a fascinating to watch the eating styles of the different age groups within the school.
The younger ones, generally are the best eaters and tasters. Whether it is a sensory exploration of the food or an actual nourishing occurrence, they consistently eat a wider variety of foods than the older kids. Our three-four year old group does a wonderful job of trying new things and will often follow each others lead when a friend tastes it and asks for more.
In our four-five year old room however, the children are strongly opinionated about what they already do like and do not like. We encourage everyone to have an adventure bite of any food that is new, sometimes they do, once again often if a friend has done so first and exclaimed it to be delicious. However, in this room i notice that new foods get passed to the next person quickly without placing a bit on their plate first. i spend quite a lot of time thinking upon how to inspire them to try something different.
Lentils are a favorite of mine and, depending on how they are prepared, the children will eat them. If it is in a soup, yes, if they are in the form of an indian Daal, not so much. Recently i mixed lentils with slow roasted onions and cheddar cheese and folded them into a butter based pie crust. The results were devoured. (Who can resist pie of any sort, truly...?)
Learning to navigate the space of the small kitchen, as well as the large appetites of the small children i seek to nourish are challenges that i find myself excited about these days. As Autumn descends outside our doors, the winds encourage us to find cozy corners in which to nestle, for me the kitchen seems my favorite spot to choose.
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