Over the year the children having been trying to grow plants in our playground with the encouraging support of Mrs Mason. At last the basil that the children had been nurturing in the planters had grown large enough to harvest. The children proudly picked the basil and brought it inside. Mrs Mason proposed to the children that they could make pesto. The children excitedly washed the leaves, ground them with a pestle and mortar, added parmesan cheese, lemon and olive oil and used a food processor to combine the ingredients. Wonderful aromas filled the rooms. The pesto was bought to the table and shared. The children sat down to enjoy dipping bread into their pesto and the scrumptious flavours it afforded.
“It turned like green, mashed greens leaves. We used the smasher and bashed it. We used it for mashing up the pesto. We used a masher with a button. It turned out very green in the bowl. We cut it with scissors one day in the morning. We used lemon. We used leaves. We used pesto to make it. We picked the leaves. First it is basil and then when we make it it is called pesto.” (Juliette)
“So first we cut them with scissors. The basil leaves. Basil seeds. We planted the seeds. It turned into basil. We put water on it and waited it to grow long days. Then they growed and then we cut them. Then we put them in the bowl and we made pesto. There were no walnuts in there.” (Freya)
“It was yummy. I dipped my bread in the pesto and I ate it. Mrs Mason is holding the bowl of pesto and the bread.” (Olivia)
“You need cheese, water to wash it. I like it.” (Valeria)
“We used some ingredients and Mrs Mason gave us instructions. She had to give us some instructions before we can do the pesto. Basil, cheese, oil, lemon, bashing and then I eat it.” (Yara)
How wonderful it was to have participated in the entire magical process of planting seeds and taking responsibility for their care. There has been much waiting and of course crop failure. The joy of successful growth finally comes. Then picking, preparing, and eating the fruits of their labour. Through this experience the children discovered the toils of work, the waiting, the expansion of time, empathy and the pleasure of things. The garden is a place of possible relationships between children and nature and among the natural elements themselves, which seem to reveal secret and intriguing communicative abilities based on a delicate language of colours, smells and tastes.
Director of Early Years