One of the things that I love the most about my job is all the fun and rewarding discoveries and learning opportunities that daily serendipities can bring to us if we keep our eyes peeled…
There’s nothing quite like stumbling upon new and exciting learning opportunities. That’s exactly what happened one day after I returned from vacation. I found a brown paper bag in my pantry filled with sprouting potatoes, each covered in fascinating white shoots. Instantly, I knew this bag could spark curiosity and meaningful learning for my preschoolers, so I brought it to school.
Without revealing what they were, I invited the children to investigate the mysterious shoots. They sniffed, squished, and closely examined them, each coming up with their own ideas about what they could be:
Its a passion fruit
Smells like worms
Its a bit squishy
Has white hair
Smells like dust
Its a big seed
Has a greenish skin
After much discussion and exploration, one child finally exclaimed, “They’re potatoes!” It was amazing to see their faces light up with excitement when they realised what they had discovered.
We decided to plant the sprouting potatoes, but we had no idea how to grow them! So, we watched a video to learn how to plant them and one of our families even gave us a potato growing bag. Over the next three months, we took great care of our potato plants diligently , watering them regularly and adding soil to the bag as needed.
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Finally, the big day arrived—harvest day! With great anticipation, we opened the potato bag and found… LOTS OF POTATOES!!!
The children were thrilled and full of questions:
- “ How did they grow there?”
- “ How come did we get so many?”
- “ Can we eat them now?”
- ” How do we eat them?”
After discussing how potatoes grow in the dark and brainstorming the many potato dishes we’d tried, we unanimously decided to make hot chips! The children enthusiastically got to work. We washed the potatoes, and I cut them into smaller chunks before the children carefully sliced them into chip shapes. Prep work complete, we handed everything over to our cook, who fried them to perfection. The smell was divine, and the taste? Absolutely delicious!
Harvesting our very own organic potatoes and enjoying them as homemade hot chips for lunch was an incredibly rewarding experience. The children’s excitement and curiosity as they explored, learned, and tasted the fruits (or in this case, tubers!) of their labor was truly priceless.
It’s moments like these that remind me why I love my job so much!