Advent in the News!

Advent Preschool Director, Cristene York, wrote the following article for the Tallahassee Democrat about why Advent stands out from other preschools.

Creative and Purposeful Learning

Positive preschool experiences introduce children to the fun of learning.  Children learn best when engaging in activities with meaning and a purpose. Cooking in a preschool environment is an excellent way to promote personal growth skills along with academic concepts, while engaging in a fun meaningful activity.

Self-reliance, independence and cooperation are important growth skills. These skills are an important part of cooking in a preschool classroom. Children learn the need for washing hands before cooking, while also  developing the ability to wait their turn to participate in the activity. Fine motor skills are developed though learning to crack eggs, stirring ingredients, leveling off a teaspoon, rolling out dough, using cookie cutters, using a plastic knife, and pouring liquids are just some of the skills necessary for cooking. Following directions and coordinating activities with others rewards them with successful recipes and tasty treats.

Exposure to language is critical to reading readiness. A cooking experience is full of language opportunities. The children see the printed word on the recipe as they hear the words spoken. During cooking new cooking vocabulary is introduced and explained. The new cooking words make sense as the children use them to create the cooking project. The whole cooking experience is infused with rich and descriptive language.

Mathematical concepts are central to purposeful learning. Cooking provides the children with many opportunities to work with math concepts. Sequencing the recipe’s steps comes first, followed by counting and measuring ingredients accurately. Children are introduced to fractions. They begin to understand the concept that a full cup is more than ½ a cup, which also emphasizes the concept of more than and less than. All these math skills make the recipe work and the end product delicious.

Many cognitive experiences can be introduced through the cooking experience. The preschoolers can become aware of cultural differences by preparing foods from different places and ethnic groups. Discussions of the plant or animal origins of foods, food groups and healthy eating raise their understanding and awareness about the world around them. The topics for discussion, during a cooking session, can be quite varied and endless.

The final part of the experience is in the eating. Children often will try unfamiliar foods when they have made them. The children have had a great time, making something for a purpose, and along the way they have been exposed to a multitude of curriculum goals that advance their development.

Advent Parish Day School strives to make all areas of our curriculum full of fun and purposeful learning.