This week, the Silver room explored all that squash has to offer! Our squashes, pumpkins, and gourds have become beloved members of our classroom over the past few weeks. The children have loved building magnet tiles houses for the pumpkins, singing for the butternut squash while it “jumps in the puddle,” and comparing the various shapes and colors of the gourds. Over a two-day period, our class roasted the squash, mashed it up, and made delicious muffins! They practiced different skills like cutting with a plastic knife, scooping with a measuring spoon, and mixing with a whisk. They also made observations about how the squash changed in the oven, noticing that it became softer and easier to cut.

Day 1: What’s in a squash?

Examining the squishy insides and the seeds

What do we wonder? What do we notice? Let’s explore with our knife skills!

Time to taste test!

Day 2: Let’s explore baking!

First, we mash up the baked squash

What ingredients will we need?

Let’s add all of the ingredients to our bowl

And now we mix!

Our muffins are ready to go!

Now, where is the oven?

The muffins are ready… time for snack!

We are so proud of our creation!

We had so much fun exploring our squashes over the past few days! Baking is a great way for children to begin learning science and math concepts. Some ways we did this in the Silver Room include counting the number of muffins in the tray, observing the way heat affected the squash, and exploring sequencing through the step-by-step transformation of the squash. We can’t wait to see what learning emerges next for our little chefs!