Children Prepare Packed Lunch as Part of Transition to School Program
As part of Acre Woods Childcare Eastwood’s Transition to School Program, the children have been preparing their own packed lunches.
Educational Leader, Bitu, shares details of their latest sushi making experience, and other activities the children have participated in as part of the program.
“Every year, around October, we start teaching the children who are going to school how to prepare their own packed lunches,” shares Bitu.
“When we first discussed the idea with the children this year, we gave them the opportunity to suggest packed lunch ideas that we could try. Some popular ideas included rolls, sandwiches, burgers and sushi.”
Since the 2019 launch of the initiative, Bitu and the team have been organising packed lunch preparation once or twice a week, teaching the children to make their own lunches.
“We recently prepared sushi which was a little tricky to assemble. It was my first time making it too, so it was a good thing that we had a sushi making kit,” says Bitu.
“It was quite challenging for the children, as the rice was sticking to their spoons. They had problem solve, and use their fingers to pull the rice down into the kit.”
Once the children had mastered the finger and spoon technique, they were able to focus on filling the rolls with their chosen ingredients before taste testing them.
“Making sushi was a learning curve for the children, as they not only had to deal with sticky rice, but also estimate how much to scoop so that it covered their seaweed properly,” explains Bitu.
“The experience provided many learning opportunities for the children, who also had to learn how to roll the sushi properly. They were definitely excited when they got to eat their hard work later.”
Making weekly packed lunches encourages the children to explore several learning outcomes, including:
- Understanding what a packed lunch is.
- Opening lunch boxes and eating from them.
- Learning the benefits of eating healthy and balanced foods.
- Using estimation, problem solving and turn taking.
In addition to packed lunches, the children have participated in a range of activities as part of the Transition to School Program, including a focused literacy and numeracy program and regular visits to the local public school.
“We recently went to our local school and visited their hall, library and playground, as well as participating in Kindergarten activities and having lunch there,” shares Bitu.
“In between visits, we talk about things that happen in big school, read books about school, talk about various places at school, and encourage children who attend orientation classes to share their experiences.”
“As our Transition to School Program runs for most of the year, we want to make sure that we cover all aspects of the experience, and prepare the children as much as we can.”
Before the end of year, Bitu and the team look forward to hosting a uniform day for the children, to further familiarise them with life in Kindergarten and primary school.
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