Multicultural Focus I prefer not to focus on one particular culture the way some teachers do but to have some themes which allow children to learn about the similarities and differences of many cultures (hats, transportation, homes, babies). One of my favorites for this is "Bread." Bread Bread Bread (written by Ann Morris, photos by Ken Heyman) and Everybody Bakes Bread (written by Norah Dooley, ill. by Peter J. Thornton) are perfect to introduce this concept. I have a collection of toy breads from a variety of cultures which are kept in our dramatic play area and are used for games ("I'm thinking of a bread that is flat and round."). My class graph for this theme is "Which of these breads do you like the most?" --four or five breads are available for tasting (this year they were bagels, flour tortillas, blue corn tortillas, and bread sticks). How Bread Is Made-Science, Math, Etc. I read the nonfiction book I Wonder How Bread Is Made (Neil Curtis and Peter Greenland) and The Little Red Hen (sometimes a couple of versions), and show the "Breadtime Tales" video. I have baked a few kinds of white bread with my classes over the years, always making a large recipe chart with words and pictures. This past year, we also made soft pretzels after reading Eric Carle's Walter the Baker . We make playdough without any food coloring so children can pretend to bake bread also. And, I have a few types of grains used to make bread available with magnifying glasses for exploration. More Science This year, I think I'll add some more experiments with yeast. What are ideal conditions for yeast to grow? Sugar vs no sugar, warm water vs cool water, . . . Yeast Experiment from LeeAnn JLCol546 I did an experiment with a yeast mixture blowing up a balloon last year....didn't even connect it to fit with this bread unit! Geeze! I'm really "out to lunch"! I used this experiment when I was talking about balloons and we were brainstorming ideas on how to blow up balloons. After they told me their ideas, I told them I had a scientific way to blow up a balloon. :-) Anyway, I did it with my mixed 3 & 4-year-old group AND my mixed 4 & 5-year-old group. They all enjoyed it. Anyway....I put a packet of yeast and 2 TBS sugar in a soda bottle....the small sized, not the 2 liter size. Then I added about a 1/2 cup of very warm water. Around the opening of the bottle I stretched a circular shaped balloon mouth. Then, over the course of our day, the yeast, warm water and sugar reacted and blew up the balloon. My kids thought it was wonderful. Most of them predicted that it could NOT be done....and were delighted when they saw the results. It's the same idea as bread rising...even the explanation for the "bubble holes" in bread. (You will be able to see the bubbles through the soda bottle.) You could expand on this and make it your experiment with various conditions...cold water vs warm, sugar vs. no sugar, large bottle vs small bottle. Which one blew up the balloon the best? It could be fun! Going Further-Peanut Butter, Jelly, Sandwiches, Etc. Sometimes, we expand on bread and make peanut butter, which is very simple with a blender. Ken Robbins' Make Me a Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk, Nadine Bernard Westcott's Peanut Butter and Jelly, A Play Rhyme, The Giant Jam Sandwich (story & pictures by John Vernon Lord, verses by Janet Burroway), and Bread and Jam for Frances (written by Russell Hoban, ill. by Lillian Hoban) can also be read. A fun group art project is to make a giant sandwich collage-I provided my class with two large pieces of paper "bread " and they used mustard "glue" (just put glue tinted yellow in a mustard squeeze container) to add cheese, bologna, pickles, . . . which were cut and colored from scrap paper. More Literature Tortillas (written by Alvin Gordon, ill. By Ted De Grazia, composed by Travis Edmonton),The Tortilla Factory (written Gary Paulsen, ill. by Ruth Wright Paulsen), and Bread Is For Eating (David and Phyllis Gershator, ill. by Emma Shaw-Smith) are other books that my classes have enjoyed with this theme. A new book I haven't yet used with my students is The Unbeatable Bread by Lyn Littlefield Hoopes (NY: Dial Books for Young Readers) Link To Another Theme-Pizza Pizza is another type of bread. We have a dramatic play pizza shop for a change, make pizza, and read fictional books like Karen Barbour's Little Nino’s Pizzeria, Curious George And The Pizza, and Dayal Kaur Khalsa's How Pizza Came To Queens. We also read Marjorie Pillar's nonfiction book Pizza Man and sing the song "I Am A Pizza". A Celebration of Bread, Our Cultures, And Our Learning Families are invited to join us for a bead tasting party. I make a display of photos and text that let everybody know about our bread theme, have the video that we watched playing in the corner of the classroom, and asked that each family bring a sample of bread which is typical of their culture or a favorite of their child. This year, I had an incredible selection of breads--spicy Arabic, Irish soda, cheese, pumpernickel. . . enough that we ended up inviting everybody else around to enjoy our buffet feast. An Idea Submitted To The Loop By JuliJBG -Use a world map to place pictures of where breads come from. Music (to the tune of Frere Jacques) submitted by DEBBIE TERRYterry@dmrtc. to Eric Carle Web Site in response to a request from LeeAnn JLCol546 Making bread, making bread. Ummm, good, Ummm good. I can smell it baking. I can smell it baking. Smells so good, Smells so good Making bread, making bread. Ummm good, Ummm good. Now its time for tasting. Now its time for tasting. Tastes so good,Tastes so good. Dough Dance (to the tune of "Mulberry Bush") from More Toddlers Together by Cynthia Catlin. It's one of the Gryphon House free activities-click on the blue Gryphon House Books: Activity from More Toddl... Do the following actions and encourage the toddlers to follow you. This is the way to pour the flour, pour the flour, pour the flour. This is the way to pour the flour into the bowl. (bend at waist to the side while standing) This is the way the flour is sifted, flour is sifted, flour is sifted. This is the way the flour is sifted into the bowl. (jump) This is the way to mix the dough...(spin) This is the way to knead the dough...(pound floor) This is the way the bread is baked, the bread is baked, the bread is baked. This is the way the bread is baked in the hot oven. (curl up in ball and lay on the floor) This is how we eat the bread, eat the bread, eat the bread. This is the way we eat the bread when it is finished. (pretend to eat bread) WebSites (click on the blue) Kansas W heathearts Educational Web Site There are some recipes, books, etc. in "Flour Power" bread. html at ericir.syr.edu Newton's Apple on Bread Chemistry * Another good book for multicultural bread is Jalapeno Bagels.   It shows the melding of two cultures.  Also, when we have planted wheatberries with the children.  It is a good connection to The Little Red Hen.