A typical Gujarati
meal, some dishes cooked by the parents of special children and some bought
from a food store, but the idea was to project the regional meal of the
particular region. This year theme is Sagar- a medley of Assam and Gujarat. All
the teaching programs are centred around these two cities of India during this academic year. The
children learn the culture, customs and food of this particular area. So this
month, on 28th September 2017, a food festival was organised to
focus on the traditional food of Gujarat.
In month of March, there will
be another food festival that will focus on the traditional food of Assam. But
that is for later.
It s an Indian
culture, that the first bite of the food is served to Gods. With a small prayer,
thanking the God for putting food on the table, all the food is first served to
Gods. Children learn that there is somebody above all, who is blessing us with
our daily meals and a prayer is a must.
There was a great assortment
of the food displayed like a buffet. Parents volunteered to stand behind the
long dining table, waiting to serve to each child. There were two such tables for
display, one on the 1st floor and another on 2nd floor.
The children from each class came in one file, and were served according to
their needs. The children learnt to wait for their turn, serve only what is
required so that there is no wastage of food, and take only that food that they
like to eat. They learn about the different taste in food (sweet, sour, salty, oily,
with gravy, dry, fried, baked, steamed) they learn about different fragrance in
food, the texture, about pairing of food with chappatis, with rice, with bread
and many other things connected to food. Many such words are added to their dictionary and they begin
to recognise these food items at home, in their friend’s home and even at a
restaurant. There is a follow-up in the lesson plan in their classroom (and at home) so that
the idea stays on. Children are encouraged to bring pictures of the food that they liked and
stick them in their work-book at art class, children who know to read and write may jot down few lines about the food in their work-book.
Home-science students learn to make some of these traditional dishes.
Teachers helped
students bring the food to their classroom where they sat with other classmates
and enjoyed the meals. During meals, they learn table etiquettes. Some learnt
to use the fork and spoon, while others learnt to eat with fingers without spilling on
the floor. According to their ability, they are taught different aspects of
dining. Children learn to eat in harmony, to chew their food well, not to talk
while eating and not to waste food. They are taught to wash their hand before
and after eating. Some children learn how to pack the left overs and save for
another day, clean the tables and wash their own plate after use. Teachers
monitor while they ate, guiding them at every step.
There is displine and
etiquettes that will help them at home and also whenever they go with their
parents for a family function.
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