Embracing cultural identity and where we come from is so important to anyone’s wellbeing and this is something we love to encourage and celebrate at Buckle My Shoe. It also provides our little ones with ongoing opportunities to learn more about different cultures and different ways of doing things. Recently we had an awesome student complete her practicum with us and after noticing that our little ones enjoy pretend cooking in the sand pit as well as regular baking opportunities, she planned a very special experience to extend on this interest and share more about her culture with us. 😊💖

Rotis were on the menu! After having a discussion with our little ones about what Rotis were and whether anyone had had them before, she set up the table with all the different ingredients we needed for Roti making. Each of our little ones were given the opportunity to help measure and mix different types of flour, adding in water and mixing it into a dough-like consistency. This caused our little ones to become super excited, as they were one step closer to the fun bit – rolling the Rotis!

As little balls of dough were given to each child, the rolling began and it was awesome to see how capable many of our little ones are. For some, the dough became quite sticky, so we decided to sprinkle some more flour on top, to help with the rolling process. Our awesome student role modelled the technique alongside our little ones and supported them to roll the Rotis to the optimum thickness, as well as size and shape. In the end though, it was all about the process! 😊

The process encouraged our little ones to explore and experiment with the effects of pressure on the dough, as they used the rolling pin to roll the dough. If they rolled too hard, the dough became thin and at times broke. If they rolled too lightly, the dough didn’t spread as much and stayed thick. It was a process of trial and error. Some of our little ones had made Rotis before at home and were familiar with the technique. For these tamariki you could see a sense of pride in their expressions, as well as happiness as this linked to their cultural background too!

Te Whariki mentions as part of the Belonging Strand that children should experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. It is also important that teachers feel a sense of belonging and can share their culture and identity with tamariki.

Once the Rotis had all been rolled out, our student teacher cooked them carefully in a pan and we enjoyed tasting them for afternoon tea. Some of our little ones made comparisons to bread or wraps, whilst others just said they loved the Rotis because “they are so yummy”. 😄😍

With tamariki, it is important to practice things more than once to develop skill and capability. For this reason, we had another Roti making session later in the week and it was fantastic to see some of the same tamariki taking more of a leadership role the second time round, with them coaching and guiding their friends who were having a go for the first time. Ka Pai! 💖🙌