Our Kindergarten Judaic staff discovered that much could be learned in the kitchen. Looking for an immersive, joyful, hands-on experience to engage all learners in the learning process, our Kindergarten teachers dreamt of adding a Kitchen to the Kindergarten experience. Ten years ago, this dream became a reality with the building of the Kindergarten Kitchen, an entire classroom designated for this purpose with everything they would need to cook, bake and experiment with.
Our Kindergarten Judaic teachers have developed their unique Alef Bet curriculum to engage all learners in an immersive experience that encompasses all five senses maximizing engagement, explorations, and satisfaction. While the classroom rigors peel away, the decorum remains the same as the students engage in opportunities to measure, mix, smell, touch, and taste the delicious treats. The students reflect on each experience by creating their Alef Bet cookbook that they take home at the end of their Kindergarten year. Many alumni still use some delicious recipes, recreating those wonderful learning experiences and making their honey cake sweeter each year.
These weekly opportunities mimic real-life experiences, and the learning within these walls cannot be measured. Taking turns, patience, and collaboration are just some basic real-life skills you can watch the students experience as they create the delicious food item that begins with the Hebrew letter of the week. Science and math come to life as they watch the changes, creations, and even mess-ups. They reflect, discuss and predict as they learn and discover that cookies rise, baking soda explodes, and sugar melts. Holidays and special events bring them into the kitchen, creating delicious food items whose aromas remind the entire school community what holiday is coming up.
Sometimes it is the smoke alarm that goes off that teaches them how not to panic, that burnt cookies can be remade, hygiene, and how to stay safe. These opportunities empower our students to thrive emotionally with resilience and compassion that support the academic growth they experience throughout the year.
While no data can measure the success we see in the classroom, perhaps it's the happy and successful scholars excited to learn every day that can show our Kindergarten Judaic teachers were on to something when they created this space, or perhaps its the alumni that go back to their Kindergarten Alef Bet cookbook to recreate the memories and pride they experienced yet again.