Learning and Development: Jack and the beanstalk activity - Full of beans

The new Early Years Foundation Stage has less emphasis on topic work, so we are basing the children's learning around their favourite stories. 'Jack and the Beanstalk' has always been very popular - the children love chanting 'fe, fi, fo, fum' and are fascinated with giants.

It was following on from sharing the book, acting out the storyline and looking at the rhyming words, that the children started to think about what Jack could have done with his beans. There are umpteen things he could have done, as well as plant them or eat them.

I went to the supermarket and bought several varieties of beans for us to explore. I got dried beans such as white beans, kidney beans, aduki beans and cannelloni beans as well as tinned beans - if the supermarket had it, I bought it.

The children enjoyed studying the wide range of beans and looking at their different shapes - butter beans are large and flat compared to aduki beans, which are small and round. They also come in colours ranging from white and green through to red.

They learned that there are a lot more beans than just cans of baked beans, which are actually haricot beans in tomato sauce. We put tubs of beans around the nursery for the children to touch and explore alongside their other play.

Bean feast

We discussed how beans are used in a lot of cooking and how they are a healthy food that provides our bodies with a good source of vitamins, iron, potassium and fibre. This supported our pre-school's healthy eating ethos which includes using wholesome, organic and local ingredients whenever possible.

It also made everyone laugh when it was said that beans can give you wind, and the children learned that it isn't polite to use the word 'fart'.

We looked at cookery books and on the internet to see what dishes we could make with our beans. We have a Turkish boy, Toby, in the pre-school so we decided to make a traditional Turkish bean stew called Kuru Fasulye which includes lots of garlic, a selection of tinned beans, tomatoes, onion and stock.

We got a recipe from the internet and asked Toby's mother to adapt it to ensure it was traditional.

It was nice to develop greater links with the family and involve them in Toby's learning - photographs of the finished stew were even sent to his grandparents in Cyprus. It also encouraged him to talk about what he eats at home, which sparked a conversation from other children about traditional dishes in different countries and cultures and the type of foods that they enjoy.

The Kuru Fasulye was delicious. and the staff and children all enjoyed it. Many of the parents commented on how amazed they were that their children had enjoyed the stew and asked for the recipe. We have links with a pre-school in Paraguay and we told them about our investigations and sent them photographs via email. In return they sent us a disc of photos through the post and told us about the staple foods that they enjoy in Paraguay.

Concepts of size

We planted bean seeds in the garden so that we could cultivate our own beanstalks. They shot up really quickly, so it kept the children's interest. They joined in with the planting and then took care to water them. We measured the beanstalks and looked at their flowers.

There was lots of language based around concepts of size, such as long and short, big and small, giant and tiny, both developed from the beanstalks and the children's interest in giants. Some of the children also pretended to be beanstalks growing out of pots.

The children made their own beanstalk display and put their photos and names on leaves going up the stalk, which they were proud of.

The setting has free-flow access to outside and we have a musical playground with fixed instruments. We made bean shakers to go in this area so that the children could play them alongside the other instruments. Some of the children used the instruments to compose 'giant' music. We also sewed bean bags and the children enjoyed throwing and catching them, encouraging gross motor skills.

The children wanted 'Jack and the Beanstalk' read to them most days. Sometimes we would read it straight from the books, other times we would just look at pictures telling the story and we would act it out. This was continued in the children's role play.

They turned the home corner into a castle and outside they enjoyed playing games of King of the Castle. There were also lots of running and chasing games, based around Jack trying to escape from the giant, and they liked to go outside and shout like a giant.

The activities linked to the book continued for around three weeks but, months later, the children still remember and act out the story.

Kate Hart Dyke, supervisor at Stonegate Pre-school, East Sussex, spoke to Annette Rawstrone.

A MENU OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Let's Eat Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner and Celebration Food (Evans)

This series of books encourages children to think about what they eat and the foods children eat around the world. Includes simple text, bright photos, activity suggestions and teachers' notes.

Beans on Toast: The story of baked beans by Paul Dowling (Walker Books)

This simple, informative book tells the life story of beans - from the stalk to the plate.

Eat Your Peas (Daisy Books) by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt (Red Fox)

Daisy and her mother face off in an escalating battle of wills, but will she eventually eat her peas?

Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown (Random House)

Children can join in a gardening countdown from the planting of ten seeds and watch their progress. What will grow out of them?

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper (Random House - also see her books A Pipkin of Pepper and Delicious!)

Three friends get together every day to make soup, until one of them wants to do it differently. The first of a trilogy.

Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs (Puffin)

A retelling of the classic children's story. Jim finds a beanstalk growing outside his window and decides to climb to the top.

There are many children's cookbooks: First Cook Book by Angela Wilkes and Stephen Cartwright (Usborne), Healthy Body Cookbook: Fun Activities and Delicious Recipes for Kids by Joan Damico and Karen Eich Drummond (Jossey Bass) and Easy Peasy: Real Food for Kids who want to Cook by Mary Contini (Ebury Press)