Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/a-community-of-eaters-bringing-families-together-through-a-classroom-food-blog/5023757/
The kitchen was filled to the brim. A pot of turmeric tie-dye simmered on the stove while children sat scattered around the floor. Dads dotted the crowd of children, tying rubber bands around classmates’ t-shirts while their own children played in the yard. Teachers and parents chatted in the living room, munching on homemade African peanut stew, a winter squash galette, and salads prepared with ingredients from the garden. It was a Friday night and our generous hosts, a family from our class, refilled drinks and gave hugs as they walked among the guests. Moms rocked babies that weren’t theirs, children helped fill each other’s plates, and the house hummed with laughter, chatter, and the feeling that we all belonged together.
How We Got Here: A Project and a Problem
It was a Sunday morning, and my co-teacher Emily and I sat at her kitchen table, poring over notes and photos, trying desperately to answer the ever-present question in our classroom: What’s next? Our classroom of three- and four-year-olds had spent the last two years getting a grasp on project work �" following the principles of the project approach, the children’s interests led us to take on several months-long studies. An academic year that teemed ...