The very thought of an excursion or trip excites even the most reticent of us. So one can only imagine how excited, the little ones were when we told them we had a field trip in store for them.
Everyday, as snack is being prepared at school, the children relentlessly ask,” Aunty, what is being made for snack today?” ..the delish aromas emerging from the kitchen, only urging them to do so even more. So, when we told them our field trip was to the neighbourhood supermarket, to procure the ingredients for Snack for the following day, they could hardly contain their excitement! Two of their favourite things coming together – Food and An Outing- it really couldn’t get any better than this!
With the incessant rains hitting the city of late, we all had our fingers crossed that the Weather Gods wouldn’t let us down. Luckily, ‘D Day’ dawned, bright and sunny, with a beautiful nip in the air.
Step one – was deciding what was going to be made for Snack and making a list for the same. The discussions on this, started a few days in advance. Finally, we settled down on ‘Pulao with Curds’, with a long list of 15 ingredients.
Step two- getting this excited bunch to the supermarket and showing them around, where we were greeted with many smiles from all those around us.
It was remarkable to see how they followed all our instructions to the ‘T ‘and understood the importance of staying together as a group, especially in an unfamiliar environment.
It took us a good hour just walking around, exploring all the nooks and corners, discovering where their kitchen provisions came from, and recognising several, familiar products which they saw and used on a daily basis.
Step three- picking up the ingredients for the Pulao! By now, the little ones had already memorised the entire list and in no time we had them picking up everything most efficiently. The billing procedure at the cash counter was another thing which they observed with a lot of interest.
Finally, a tired but very satisfied bunch got back to school. But it wasn’t over just as yet. The Curd still had to be set for the ‘much awaited Pulao’ and obviously, they had to have a hand in preparing it as well. So the next morning, shelling peas and grating carrots was the first thing on the agenda after checking if the curd has been set.
Snack time is always an anticipated time at school but never had it been like this before! The ‘Simple Pulao and Curds’ never tasted better and second helpings seemed to be the order of the day.
Language and math activities also seemed to be inspired by our field trip, with them wanting to express their experiences in their own words, and also work out the amount that we had spent. All in all, one can only say, it was a complete win-win situation, for everyone involved.
