The Year of the Dragon

Article by Katherine Noll, photos by Patricia Canavan
February 16, 2012

How did the children of NCC's Reibman Hall Children's Center become interested in the Chinese New Year? It all started with Thomas the Tank Engine - and ended up with a trip to the Hampton Winds kitchen!

"We use an emergent curriculum," Nicole Pickens, assistant teacher, said of the infant/toddler class. "We teach based off the children's interests."

The class, which consists of children as young as 4 ½ months old up to 22 months, loves books. "We spend a lot of time reading," Pickens said.

Molly, a toddler in the class, is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. It prompted her to pick out a book titled "Thomas and the Dragon." She shared it with the class, and the dragon craze began!

The teachers and artist-in-residence, Angie Lande, saw it as an opportunity to introduce the Chinese New Year because 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

Lande, whose daughter Abigail is in the class, helped the children create a paper mache dragon. They also flew a dragon kite outside. The fun continued when culinary students, under the direction of Chef Scott Kalamar, invited the children to tour the Hampton Winds restaurant kitchen and feast on snacks to celebrate the New Year.

Eyes grew wide at the sight of the busy kitchen. Little hands reached out to touch a dolphin ice sculpture.  The teachers and parents were interested in the inner workings of the restaurant's kitchen. Kalamar explained how duties were divided among new students just learning their craft and those about to graduate.

 

 

 

Next the children were invited to see a demonstration by Jonathan Musselman, a culinary student, who carved an apple into a swan.  

The culinary students prepared special snacks: rice balls and spring rolls, all the perfect-size for small hands and mouths.

At the end, each child was presented with a panda cookie to take home.

The Year of the Dragon may have just begun, but it has already brought lots of smiles to these children!

The culinary students who made the smiles possible were Jonathan Musselman, Robert Relyea, Alexander Meyer, Jennie Harris, Jennifer Vadas, Derek Raines, David Somavilla, Jordan Van Wert, and Matthew Tone. Congratulations to them all as they graduate from the culinary program on February 24.

To see more photos from this event, visit Northampton Community College's Flickr channel.