During our first exploration at the farm, the children discovered peppers growing in the garden of the hoop house. They took note of the colors and began plucking them from the stems before tasting them or collecting them on the table. We quickly had a pile overflowing with colorful peppers. What could we do with so many of them? Micah turned to a cookbook we had brought from the classroom and began flipping through the pages. Upon discovering a recipe for Pesto Pepper Pizza, he informed a teacher and the other children. Some children compared the peppers they had picked to the ones in the book, and it was decided that they matched. That following Friday, the children had the opportunity to bring the recipe they discovered to life as they made the pizza for snack. As they referenced the cookbook to follow the steps of the recipe, the children participated in all steps of the cooking process. Through washing the peppers, rolling out the dough, chopping the peppers, spreading the sauce, “decorating” it with cheese and peppers, and eating the final product, the children got to experience the process of preparing the pizza first hand.
This farm and cooking project supported various aspects of the children’s development, including cognitive, fine motor, and social emotional development. Picking produce from our farm helps connect the children to nature and allows them to see where some of our food comes from. Farmer Erica also helped us learn about how we know when the peppers are ripe as she helped us find the larger peppers. Using the cookbook, the children could match the peppers that we found to the peppers in the recipe to see if it needed these ingredients. The cookbook was also a reference to help us see the sequence of the recipe as we counted out the steps and saw the order to them. Preparing the ingredients for the pizza helped to strengthen the children’s fine motor skills. Making a rolling motion with our hands and arms, chopping the peppers, spreading sauce, and sprinkling cheese all require control of our fine motor muscles. Working on a collaborative cooking project allowed for turn taking and working together as children waited for turns with cooking tools and helped put ingredients on the pizza. Risk-taking by using real knives helps children follow safety practices and builds self-confidence.
“We were picking peppers in the garden. It was a yellow and not the colors that peppers are. Peppers are usually red.”
“We were picking peppers, putting it in the pepper spot.”
“That’s when we found peppers and made pepper pizza.”
“I wanted to see how the pizza looked. I wanted to see if there was green [pepper], so I found a green one.”
“We were making pizza. We were rolling out the dough. I remember that we were taking turns. It felt like mushy sticky. It also felt weird floury.”
“We were working together.”
“That’s when I cut the peppers. It felt good.”
“We were putting pesto on the pizza, spreading it.”
“I was just checking what ingredients were next.”
“We were eating the pizza ‘cuz I like pizza. It tasted like peppers. I like peppers. I like the way they taste.”
