Slice of Bread

If the titles of the 2 recent posts suggest that I may be deprived of food, you are mistaken. In fact, there is always so much food at my dining table that I suspect that is the "cai wei" or source of wealth in my house.

However, an activity in Nigel's (my son, 2 years old and second in line to heirloom) weekend class made me think otherwise. The toddlers in the class were asked to use a plastic knife, scoop out some strawberry jam and spread the jam on a slice of bread. This activity was aimed at training their eye-hand coordination skills.

Without any procrastination, Nigel picked up a knife, stuck it into the bottle of jam, managed to scoop out some and started his artwork on a slice of bread. He was engrossed in his masterpiece whilst his classmates came by, DID IT and went on to other activities but Nigel was ALWAYS THERE. The novelty of this activity was captivating as he will NEVER EVER get such freedom at home under my mum's, his grandma aka supremo, supervision. Soon there was a stack of "art pieces" collected on the plate.

My pre-programmed logic suggested that these artwork were to be snacks during the toddlers' snack break. Then a teacher came by and told me otherwise, they were meant for the bin and many had found their final resting place since classes started in the morning.

“WHAT A WASTE!” I exclaimed, to which no response came. Actions spoke louder than words, Nigel and I embarked on our task to UNDO that waste, albeit slightly. Together, we ate up his one and only masterpiece. It tasted good I must say, was it the extra ingredient, Nigel’s saliva?

This learning activity was just inconceivable to me, that toddlers are taught to PLAY with bread and have them thrown away whilst many out there are starving? Perhaps......maybe......afterall I am just a cheap skate that would not even let go of ...... a slice of bread.