Flour and education

Aston Clinton School near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire is the June 2009 winner of a Panasonic breadmaker and a supply of Carrs Breadmaker flour

A TRADITIONAL folk tale inspired four-year-olds at Aston Clinton School near Aylesbury to bake a variety of loaves and become our breadmakers of the month.

After receiving a supply of free Carrs Breadmaker flour, reception class teacher Denise Bentham wondered how to introduce the breadmaking message to her very young pupils.

“As traditional stories are a great way of introducing new topics to young children I decided to use the story of the little red hen,” said Denise.

The tale - thought to be of Russian origin - describes how a hen discovers a grain of wheat in a field.

On asking who will help her plant it, the hen’s friends - a dog, a cat and a duck - turn their backs on her.

After also refusing to help harvest and thresh the wheat or take it to a mill to be turned into flour, the hen does everything herself, eventually baking a loaf of bread and then declining to share it with her hungry friends.

The moral of the tale - that only those who contribute to something deserve to enjoy the end result - was not lost on the pupils as they all pitched in to make the bread!

“The children listened to the story of the little red hen and then acted it out,” explained Denise.

“They then made bread which they enjoyed very much. I also run a cookery club for Year 4 children and one of their favourite recipes was pizza. They made the base themselves using the flour that Carrs Breadmaker donated.”

Caroline Dale, marketing manager of Carrs Breadmaker, was delighted with the school’s efforts.

“What a charming way to bring breadmaking alive to very young children,” she said.

“I can remember from my own childhood reading the story of the little red hen.

“Whilst our own online breadmaking module is aimed at older children, there are lots of ways of making breadmaking relevant to children of all ages.”

Below are some excerpts from the school childrens' portfolios from the Breadmaking Module (click to view an enlarged image):

Ian Griffiths, product manager at Panasonic, added:

“I was really interested to hear about this school - an unusual and deserved winner!".

Each month throughout 2009
Panasonic and Carrs donated a breadmaker and a supply of flour to the school submitting the best portfolio of work.