Hi and welcome to this weeks…
OUTDOOR PLAY LINK UP!
The “Food in Play” debate continues to be problematic for many early childhood professionals. It really is hard to determine exactly where to draw the line on what can be classified as food. At our preschool, we have decided that:
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anything that can be directly consumed as food without adding any other ingredient, will not be used in play (eg. rice and pasta).
- anything that requires mixing with other ingredients to be consumed as food, will be used sparingly if a substitute cannot be found (eg. flour and salt).
For our preschool staff, this was an appropriate ethical decision, based on demonstrating respect for global food availability. Because we have access to food in abundance, should not mean that we adopt flippant or careless approaches towards its use. We are seeing a steady increase in the number of families enrolling at our preschool who have come to Australia as refugees from Burma. Imagine how these families would respond emotionally to seeing children playing with large tubs of coloured rice following on from their own personal experiences in refugee camps!
So for us, rice and pasta are out, and where possible we seek alternatives to using food substances. In the past, we have made up batches of “Goop” from corn-flour and water, but recently we have discovered that clay and water can create almost the same sensory experience.
We started out with large blocks of firm clay in a tub of water. It took the children quite some time, mixed in with a lot of fun, to break these large lumps of clay down into smaller more malleable pieces.
Eventually it formed into a silky smooth consistency that proved to be irresistible for some children.
And as the water evaporated from the tub and the clay began to thicken, the children added more water to achieve their preferred consistency.
A great sensory experience that sat comfortably with staff. We have resolved our uncertainty over the issue of the use of food in play with the added benefit of the children working with natural materials!
For an alternative to using rice and pasta, follow this link. 🙂
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Wow, that looks so fun, it makes me want to dive in there myself! I can almost feel the soft, wet, silky-smooth clay in my hands just from looking at your pictures. What a wonderful sensory experience for the kids!
Thanks Jane! It has been ongoing fun for about 4 weeks now! 🙂
That looks truly gorgeous Karen – I am going to have to find a way to do that – maybe on one of my tuff spots. it looks so inviting, thanks so much for sharing this fun with everyone. And I really appreciate your explanation on the food/play debate, thanks Kierna
It is a really lovely experience Kierna and it did lead to a lot of additional learning. One little girl commented on how it felt like ‘soap’ and I then explained to her that in the past (and even now!) it was used as a skin cleanser. We also talked about elephants distributing mud and clay on their backs to prevent sunburn. The children then enjoyed spreading the clay up their arms and experiencing the sensation of it drying on their skin. Some even doodled images on their arms, ‘tattoos!’ A little later on the same little girl was over-heard explaining all of this information to one of her friends! The food in play debate really is something that I think needs to reflect the circumstances of your local community. We have four Burmese families attending our preschool and more enrolled for 2013. The children within our care were either born in refugee camps on the Burmese/Thai border or in detention centres in Malaysia. Their diet largely consisted of rice and water, both of which were often very scarce. These families understand ‘hunger’. Therefore, for us, using food in play is a culturally sensitive issue. So, through respect for our Burmese families, our staff and ‘Committee of Management’ have chosen to change our practices regarding food use. 🙂
isn’t it amazing what we take for granted. i love your explanation and I’m sure the children love everything you play with no matter what it is made of!
Wow nice to see its an amazing thing … they were playing wilt clay …. i also want to play like this…
Even if they play with clay too it will be good only childrens are too cute were play like this