Curriculum Experience Plan

Name: Jackie Henriquez

Activity/Experience Name: Pretzel Bites

INTENTIONS FOR LEARNING

Goal(s): Describe the general or long-term developmental focus of this experience.
List the California Preschool Learning Foundation(s) or California Infant/Toddler Learning
and Development Foundation(s) here:

This experience is planned to support the development of mathematical concepts, health and
safety, nutrition and science. Children will be able to use language for self-expression and
negotiation.

Objectives: What specific and observable concepts or skills will the child learn, explore, or
discover? The child will be able to List the Preschool DRDP Measure(s) or Infant/Toddler
DRDP measure(s) here:

TCWBAT scoop and measure ingredients to create a product using gross and fine motor skills.

TCWBAT use language to share ideas and make predictions as to what will happen with all the
ingredients.

TCWBAT count objects (scoops of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, etc).

TCWBAT to use a new tool (pastry brush) to brush melted and cooled butter onto the pretzels
which mimics using a paint brush.

EXPERIENCE PLAN
Activity Description:

Children will make pretzel bites. Children will make the dough, roll the dough and cut into pretzel
bite shapes. They will also dip the pretzel bites into a baking soda mixture, place on a tray and I
will bake the pretzel bites. Finally, the children will paint the pretzels with melted butter.

Invitational Set-up: How will the experience be presented to invite participation or provoke
interest? (Provide a photograph of the set-up).

Plan: At group time I will explain to the children that we will be making pretzel bites and making
the dough. I will ask the children open-ended questions about their experience with cooking and
what they like to eat.

I will give a demonstration of making the dough during circle time and then I will invite the children
to join me in the snack area so they can take turns measuring and scooping the ingredients and

*Please photograph or video-record this experience and collect anecdotal notes.

mixing the dough. I will explain that the dough needs time to rest and grow and when the dough
has rested we will be ready to cut the dough and roll into shapes.

What actually happened: Teacher Angie invited the children to meet me at the snack table to
make pretzels. 9 children came to the snack table and I first shared with them the dough I
brought from home. The dough was in a plastic bag and they were very excited to touch it right
away! I did not ask children what their experience was with cooking but some children said that
they like to cook and have helped at home. The children all took turns measuring and mixing the
dough. The children took artistic freedom to make the dough into freeform shapes rather than
bites.

Specific vocabulary, teaching strategies, and open-ended questions you will keep in mind
(Using your textbook and/or Curriculum Frameworks, list specific ways you will promote
problem-solving and critical thinking beyond a simple recall of facts):

Vocabulary: dough, knead, roll, cut, rest, rise

Possible questions: How big do you think the dough will get/rise? How long can you make your
dough? How do you think rolling the dough thick or thin will change the pretzel? What happens if
the dough is too small or too big? Do you think the dough will get bigger in the oven?

Possible teaching strategies: comment on childrens actions (narrating), model how to roll the
dough and cut the dough and help children as appropriate.

How is this experience personalized (i.e. modified) to meet the varying developmental and
individual needs of the children in your class? (e.g., older children, younger children,
specific needs or interests?)

Children do not have to participate if they do not want to. More or less assistance will be
provided depending on the childs ability.

Specific materials needed that are not already accessible to children:

Ready-made dough
Butter
Yeast
Bench scraper to cut the dough into pieces
Parchment paper

REFLECTION/EVALUATION
What did you do well?
There were nine children who showed an initial interest in making the dough and pretzel bites. I
feel I did a good job giving each child a task and a turn in helping to make the dough. I feel I did
a good job explaining what we were going to do, how to make the dough and introducing the
concept of making a dough. I brought a dough I made in the morning at home to share what the
finished product would look like and first passed that around for the children to explore.

The children each took a turn scooping the flour and measuring ingredients and stirring to make
the dough. Once the water was added to the flour mixture all of the children wanted to get their
hands in the bowl rather than wait to take turns to mix and knead. I decided to distribute the
dough amongst the children for them to roll, explore and knead. They enjoyed each having a
piece of dough to work with.

*Please photograph or video-record this experience and collect anecdotal notes.

What also went well is how engaged the children stayed in the dough process. The children
enjoyed feeling and touching the dough and adding flour. One child was engaged in the process
for 45 minutes.

How did the children respond to the experience presented? (Describe your observations
of childrens words and actions) What worked? What was difficult? Were there any
surprises?

The children enjoyed the sensory experience of touching all of the ingredients in dough making. I
allowed the children to each take a turn touching the flour, smelling the yeast and get to know the
ingredients. From my experience cooking with my toddler, I had a feeling that the children would
all want to touch the flour by itself since it looks like sand.

The children smiled when touching and smelling the dough I brought from home. They enjoyed
talking about the dough they were making as well. Several of the children said, Its slimy! Its
sticky! Its gooey. The children showed how sticky their hands were when touching the dough
and they learned to add more flour to make it less sticky.

We sat around the snack table to mix and knead the dough and this worked well to keep the
children engaged on the activity. Taking turns worked well as well. What was difficult was taking
into account that some of the children needed to go to yoga and how long the experience was
taking.

I think it was surprising how long the children were engaged in the activity. The children were
engaged in the activity for about an hour and a half. I was also surprised that when it came time
to cut the dough into pieces that they instead made lines in their dough with the bench scraper. I
thought that the children would cut through the dough more than they did.

What additions or changes would you make if you were to do this activity again? What did
the children teach you (e.g. about curriculum, teaching, or children)?

If I were to do this activity again, I might do this outside because there was quite a lot of flour that
landed on the floor. In the experience today we cut out a few of the steps and I think that is
something that I would do in the future as well.

I love baking with children because they are so excited to get messy and be part of the process.
For some children it is more about the process of making something than the finished product.
The children taught me that it is important to go-with-the-flow rather than to achieve perfection.
Like making dough, teaching is also a process and sometimes you might get messy in that
process.

*Please photograph or video-record this experience and collect anecdotal notes.

*Please photograph or video-record this experience and collect anecdotal notes.