The infants have been enjoying the song “Fruit Salad” by The Wiggles this summer. So for our family summer social, we decided to make our own fruit salad! The educators asked families what their favourite fruits were. The most popular fruit was raspberries and watermelon. The infant educators added some of the fruits they observed the children enjoying during meal times. They added bananas, strawberries and cantaloupe. The educators shared the importance of washing the fruit and our hands before they got to work.
Using their child safe knife set, the infants took turns cutting up the fruit. They had some assistance from educator Michelle but also had an opportunity to try cutting independently. Nora and Brayden focused on using the crinkle knife. While Rowan indicated that he wanted to try different knifes by pointing at them. He experimented with the longer knife and also the “cookie cutter” knife, which was shaped like a flower. The children who were waiting for a turn gathered around the table and watched. When the pieces of watermelon shaped like flowers were put into the bowel Raphael pointed them out. “Rowan cut the watermelon into flower shapes,” Kiva told him. Raphael giggled then went back to watching Rowan work. The educators noticed a few children taste testing the fruit as they were cutting it so they educators offered some fruit to them when they were not using the knifes. Watermelon seemed to be the most popular choice. Once all of the fruit was cut up and placed into the bowl, the infants helped the educators put cling wrap over top. Raphael and Nora walked down to the kitchen with Michelle and placed the bowl in the fridge. Then in the afternoon they shared it with their families and peers at the social!
The infants seemed to enjoy focusing on this riskier work. It gave them some independence as they tested the knives. They worked purposefully to cut the fruit with the knife. They used their fine motor and hand eye coordination skills during the process. The infants waited patiently for their turn to cut. They were able to share this hard work with their family and peers at the social.
To encourage more independent risk taking, we could make cooking and using these tools a regular activity in the infant room. We might ask families to share recipes to try!
