Apple(sauce) for the Teacher

As part of my efforts to educate my students more about their food, my five-year-olds and I have started a List.  A Food Project List, based on books we've read about food and the children's own personal interests.

This list includes:

• Bake a Thunder Cake (based on the book by Patricia Polacco)
• Make crockpot applesauce
• Bake different breads from around the world
• Try cheeses made from the milk of different animals
• Plant vegetables
• Make pasta (from scratch)
• Make whipped cream/butter

Last week, I asked one of the children to choose one of the food projects for us to do.  She chose: crockpot applesauce.  I may or may not have read a book about apples to the children that very day, perhaps or perhaps not with the hope that they would choose that project.

The next day, I brought in the supplies: crockpot, apples, cinnamon sticks, ground ginger, salt, orange juice, apple peeler, and paring knife.

I stationed my assistant at the table where two children at a time would select which apple they'd like to chop (they had three varieties to choose from: Granny Smith, MacIntosh, and HoneyCrisp).  My assistant peeled and cut the apple into large chunks, and then the child used their own knife to cut the apples into smaller pieces, tossed the pieces into a bowl, and then walked over and dumped them in the crockpot.

When the children had cut about half of the apples, I turned on the crockpot and added the spices, salt and orange juice.

It took the full morning for each child to have a turn cutting an apple.  I was a bit worried that, it being our first cooking project of the year, the process would have been a bit chaotic, but in fact, it had the opposite effect.  Despite the fact that my assistant was sitting at that table for the entire morning, and not doing much of anything else, I found that I didn't really miss her.  The children were calm, focused, and content.

Food, apparently, is magical.

Oh, who am I kidding.  I already knew that.

About three hours later, the classroom started to smell oh so heavenly.  I had people randomly coming into my room, brought in by the pungent, cidery, homey aroma.  The children were so proud when they could tell the wandering visitors that they were making applesauce.

At the end of the day, the applesauce was ready and the five-year-olds had a chance to taste it.  I had some myself, and it was delicious: tartness from the Granny Smiths, heartiness from the MacIntoshes, and a juicy peariness from the HoneyCrisps.

Still warm from the crockpot.  Full of goodness.  And hard work.  And love.

That is my idea of a successful Food Project.

Eat well.

P.S. Please forgive the blurry pictures of the children cutting apples - I had to take them quickly, with my camera phone, and I was terrified that my boss would walk in and yell at me for neglecting my "official" duties... =)