The Food Exploration Project
-Homeschooling
When you teach The Food Exploration Project ─ Homeschooling to your children, they will engage in activities about fresh ingredients and hands-on cooking experiences. They will learn about nutrition and taste. They will also discover how food weaves its way through daily life as it travels from the farm, to the market, and to the table. Each session builds on the previous one and focuses on a selected theme. It includes a recipe that will encourage your children to explore, prepare, and taste healthier foods. In the last lesson, your children use the healthy eating skills they have learned to prepare a “A Dinner Party” for you and your family. Sessions are presented in a fun, hands-on manner with opportunities to learn culinary skills, kitchen science, food origins, and more.
The Food Exploration Project - Homeschooling
Each Food Exploration Project - Homeschooling Kit includes:
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A child-sized apron
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A child-safe knife
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8 session parent guide
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Food Exploration Journal
Session 1: Culinary Practices and Elements of Taste
Your children will be introduced to various kitchen safety rules, sanitation, proper knife skills, and taste five fresh food samples to isolate the five elements of taste.
Session 3: What’s in my drink?
Your children will learn about the difference between “natural” and “added” sugars, how to read a nutrition facts label, how to calculate the added sugar content of popular sugar-sweetened beverages, and prepare a fizzy fruit drink.
Session 5: Spoons Salad Days
Your children will learn about kitchen science, emulsification, and prepare a fresh salad with homemade vinaigrette dressing.
Session 2: Local and Seasonal
Your children will explore the concept of local and seasonal eating and prepare a seasonal yogurt parfait.
Session 4: Snack Healthy
Your children will continue to analyze nutrition facts labels, learn about the importance of consuming healthy vs. “not so healthy” snacks, and prepare garbanzitos (a healthy snack using chickpeas).
Session 6: Where does it grow? The parts of a plant.
Your children will discuss and explore the concept of how plants are grown, the various edible parts of a plant, and prepare a healthy vegetable stir-fry.
Session 7: Food Advertising – Do you buy it?
Your children will discuss the techniques employed by food advertisers, use these techniques to create their own food advertisements for a fruit or vegetable, and prepare a healthy personal pizza using homemade pizza sauce and dough.
Session 8: Family Meals and Celebrations
Your children will discuss family dining habits, eating sweet treats in moderation, and prepare a fresh fruit fool dessert.
Session 9: The Dinner Party
Your children will learn how to set the table; dining etiquette; and will plan, prepare, and host a three-course family meal (a Dinner Party) for your family.
