Peeling and Mashing…
Over a period of two days, the Pre-Primary children were hard at work. The first day began with four children avidly peeling then scrubbing a bowl of Maine potatoes. One girl worked on her potato for a good hour of the morning; she peeled the potato in little splinters creating a pile of tiny peels, but continued until she felt satisfied with her potato. Another friend stood with a scrub brush and a bowl of water cleaning off the earth and a bit more peel. He examined the potato closely, trying to scrub off the eyes of the potato as well. After the entire potato had a solid scrubbing, he picked up another potato that was ready to be scrubbed.
On the second day, the children were treated to not only mashing potatoes, but also sampling their work. The potatoes came into the classroom cooked and ready to be mashed. The majority of the children took a turn mashing. They added the butter the Pre-Primary class made previously along with salt. A boy squealed with delight as the potato oozed through the masher. He sat and devoured a scoop of mashed potato and then rushed to a teacher and exclaimed, “Have you tried the potatoes yet? They are delicious! I want more!” He rushed back towards the Practical Life area in search of more.
