Preschool
What We Saw: The children were
having apples for snack. A variety of apples were served
that had different colors and tastes. Children were asked
to pick which kind of apple they liked the best. A teacher
asked the children, "Do you like sweet apples or sour
apples?" and "What color apple do you think tastes sweet?"
Children were excited about having the choices and asked
if they could taste all of the apples. One child exclaimed,
"I like the red ones because they taste sweet!" Another
child answered, "Me too!"
What It Means: Meals and snack times
should be pleasant social and learning experiences for
children. Preschool aged children are developing autonomy,
which is why they use the word "no" so much! By offering
different kinds of apples, this teacher gains their compliance
(in eating the snack) while still allowing them to choose
for themselves. (Instead of saying "I want you
to taste the apple," the teacher can say "Would you like
to try the green one or the red one?") By providing varyied
apple colors and tastes, this teacher was also providing
lessons in perception. Differentiating the
different tastes is fun, and correlating the relationship
of taste with color is exciting! How is color related
to taste?
Back
More Mealtime
Promising Practices
