"Paying attention to the integrity of children's learning and development" is the first implementation principle put forward in the Guide to Children's Learning and Development for 3-6 years old (hereinafter referred to as the Guide). In addition to comprehensive theme activities, program activities and unit activities, it is also an effective means for us to integrate the principle of "wholeness" into children's daily life and grasp educational opportunities in all aspects of children's daily life.
For example, dining is one of the important links in the daily life of kindergartens. However, due to the characteristics of repetition, frequency and monotony, many teachers often ignore the educational value of this link and only regard it as a means of regular training, especially in small classes.
Educational value in health field
The educational value of the health field in the catering sector has always been highly valued, which is also a direct educational opportunity in the catering sector. In the guide, the health goal of small class children's dining session is mainly reflected in "good living hygiene habits", especially mentioning "under the guidance, don't be partial to food and picky eaters." I like to eat fresh food, such as fruits and vegetables. In the actual observation, the author found that most small class teachers use preaching methods, such as oral education for a picky eater, but for small class children who are in the stage of intuitive action thinking, such preaching methods often can't play a very good role.
In fact, the educational form of balanced and healthy diet for small class children can be more vivid. For example, using cartoon images that children like and cartoon pictures with food to make cloth books. Before eating every day, let the children find out the corresponding food pictures according to the menu, "feed" them to cartoon characters, give them positive psychological hints, and encourage them not to be partial to food or picky about food, and love to eat everything.
In addition, most teachers will introduce the recipes of the day to their children before eating, but most of them just report the names of the dishes once, which is dry and meaningless, and most children forget them after listening. In fact, the proper way to introduce recipes will obviously affect children's appetite. For example, making full use of multimedia technology to make vivid and interesting videos of food preparation and nutrition, and playing them in the transition before meals will stimulate children's appetite. If conditions permit, it will be more effective to introduce recipes before meals by properly involving children in the process of making simple food or letting kitchen chefs introduce the recipes of the day in class.
Through these methods, children have a deep impression and rich experience on healthy eating styles and eating habits.
The Educational Value of Language Field
In most kindergartens in China, the educational value of language in dining is often ignored or not recognized. On the one hand, there is an old saying in China since ancient times that "it goes without saying that you eat and sleep"; On the other hand, most preschool teachers also believe that speaking while eating not only affects children's digestion, but also causes dangerous situations such as suffocation. Therefore, most kindergartens require children to keep quiet during meals.
In fact, children in small classes are more interested in new things, curious and like to talk endlessly. Even though the teacher repeatedly stressed that children can't talk while eating, it is still common for children to whisper. Therefore, before eating, it is advisable to make use of the transitional link to let children carry out various forms of activities, such as telling stories, reciting children's songs, and communicating with each other, so as to give more opportunities for language expression. For example, share stories and nursery rhymes about eating, nutrition and habit formation before meals, such as Rooster and Spillover and Popeye.
During my study in Japan, I have observed the dining links in Japanese kindergartens many times, and many Japanese kindergartens have "small announcers" activities before meals. Every day, a child comes to the front of the classroom, introduces a kind of food he likes, and briefly explains the reason. For example, a child proudly said, "I like to eat rice balls made by my mother best, because there are floss I like to eat!" " "The other children applauded warmly. Such simple activities not only cultivate children's expressive ability, but also enhance their self-confidence. In addition, many kindergartens in Japan adopt the form of bring your own lunch, and teachers often encourage children to exchange their own special foods during meals. Colleagues and Japanese kindergarten teachers eat with children and answer their questions at any time. The atmosphere is as relaxed and happy as a family. The practice of these dining sessions effectively promotes the development of children's language ability and peer communication ability, and also creates an equal and pleasant dining environment, which is an inspiration to our traditional dining sessions.
Educational value in social field
September, 10 every year is a serious stage of separation anxiety of small class children, especially in the life links such as entering the park, lunch and nap. In the small class dining session, we often see some children crying to go home while eating, and some children crying to say that they don't like kindergarten meals and want to eat the meals cooked by their mothers. These scenes provide opportunities for children's social learning and development.
For example, for children who are in a bad mood when eating, the teacher can let them talk about how their mother takes care of them first, then sit next to them to calm their emotions and give them proper feeding, and at the same time guide the children to talk about how the teacher takes care of them in time, so that the children can realize that the teacher likes their mother and let them have a sense of trust and attachment to the teacher. In order to make children in small classes familiar with the small partners in the class as soon as possible, it is necessary to fix the dining position in the dining session.
For another example, the transitional links such as queuing to wash hands before and after meals, taking meals, and taking seats in turn are of great educational value for cultivating small class children's awareness of rules and their ability to eat independently; Appropriately let small class children do some simple tasks, such as cleaning the table after meals, so that children can quickly adapt to the duty student system after entering middle and large classes; Activities in quiet areas after meals are a good opportunity to cultivate children's willingness to share, communicate and play with their peers.
In addition, conditional kindergartens can also try to organize a children's buffet once a month to change the usual dining mode and make the dining session more interesting. In the process of buffet, children feel the pleasure of dining with their companions. At the same time, through the requirements of orderly queuing for meals and taking meals as needed, they initially realize the concept of order and have the consciousness of loving and cherishing food and respecting farmers' labor. Teachers can also introduce traditional food to children on traditional festivals such as Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, so that children can have a preliminary understanding of national culture and establish a certain sense of national pride.
Educational value in the field of science
The dining session contains abundant opportunities for scientific education. By observing the color and shape of food, touching the size, shape and organizational structure of food, tasting the taste of food, smelling the fragrance of food, and even patting the fruit to listen to the sound, small class children can experience it many times and constantly perceive the various characteristics of food, so that the sensory organs of small class children can be fully used and exercised. In such activities, children's senses are improved, laying a solid foundation for early growth and development.
In the process of eating at noon, teachers can let children fully perceive the characteristics of fruits with different shapes, sizes and quantities, and let children learn mathematical concepts such as shape, quantity and volume. For example, when eating grapes, ask the children to count how many they have, and feel that the grapes are oval; When eating oranges, let children feel that oranges are round, orange and have a unique sweetness. These simple and basic common sense are the key experiences that small class children need to accumulate. These scientific contents included in dining activities can not only improve the enthusiasm of small class children for dining, but also expand their scientific knowledge and stimulate their interest in exploring science.
Educational value in the field of art
Small class children's dining seems to have little connection with the art field, but as long as teachers are good at discovering, they can also tap the value of art education.
For example, soft pre-meal music creates a warm dining atmosphere for children, and at the same time makes children gradually calm into a state of preparing for meals, giving children some hints-music can make a person feel happy and let children understand that if you speak loudly, even the best music can't be heard clearly.
In addition, in the process of eating, guide children to appreciate the unique lines, colors and shapes of delicious dishes, fruits and grains, gradually exercise their ability to discover beauty, enhance aesthetic taste and stimulate artistic imagination.
At the same time, through observation, the author found that small class children have a strong interest in cartoon-like and colorful tableware. Conditional kindergartens can prepare safe tableware with rich shapes and colors to stimulate children's appetite, and at the same time initially infiltrate the cultivation of children's aesthetic consciousness. This can also be inspired by the lively and colorful toilets in Japanese kindergartens.
Teachers should not be confined to fixed thinking patterns when organizing all aspects of children's daily life except eating. For example, outdoor activities are health education, and morning reading is language education. On the contrary, teachers should regard each link as a whole that effectively integrates the educational value of multiple fields. This is also the key to grasp the integrity principle of the guide.