Materials:

• chart paper
• large pot
• chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon
• cooked pasta or cooked rice
• vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, celery, beans)
• small plastic knives
• plastic measuring cup

Developing Skills:

• science
• math
• teamwork

Objective: Children will work together to plan, buy, and prepare a soup for their lunchtime meal. 

ACTIVITY

1. Ask children what they already know about soup. What kind of soup do they like to eat? What do they think they would need to make their own soup? Write children's ideas and food suggestions on chart paper.

2. Encourage children to plan a soup recipe that they would like to make for lunch. If you are teaching in a family childcare setting, you may want to take children to a nearby grocery store to purchase the ingredients. You can also request that each parent send in one or two specific ingredients for the soup.

3. Help children wash their hands. Provide each child with a small plastic knife, and remind them how to safely cut vegetables. If children are not old enough to cut by themselves, they can assist by washing the vegetables and gathering cut ones into small bowls. Invite children to count how many different types of vegetables there are. Allow children to snack on a few raw vegetables while assembling the ingredients.

4. Bring the large soup pot to the table. Ask each child to add something to the pot, until all the ingredients are inside. Children can take turns using a measuring cup to pour water into the pot. (You may want to add a can of chicken stock or vegetable bouillon cubes.) Emphasize that making the soup is a group effort!

5. Place the pot on the stove, cover, and cook. After the vegetables have cooked for awhile, add the precooked pasta or rice to the soup. Cook the soup a little longer. Invite everyone to the table for a lunchtime feast of "Friendship Soup"! Consider sending a sample of soup home for parents to try. 

Remember: Begin preparing the soup soon after the children arrive in the morning so that it will be ready for their lunch. Also, before you start cooking, remind children about kitchen safety.

TAKE-HOME ACTIVITY

Send a note home explaining how children worked together to make soup. Suggest that parents invite their child to practice their new cutting and cooking skills by helping to prepare other recipes - such as salads and stews.

Curriculum Connection: MATH

Give children a bowl filled with crackers in a variety of shapes: goldfish, oyster, square, and oval. Place paper plates for each type of cracker on the table. Ask children to work together to sort the crackers onto each plate. Now, children can pass the plates around and choose crackers to eat with their soup.