From Garden to Bowl: Making Carrot Soup at Blue Windmill

There’s something very satisfying about eating something you’ve grown yourself, especially when you’ve been involved in every stage, from planting the seeds to preparing the finished meal.

At Blue Windmill Nursery, our latest garden-to-table project involved turning our home-grown carrots into a delicious soup to share with families.

Growing our own

It all started in our Growing Garden, where the children have been growing carrots in our vegetable beds.

Growing vegetables is a great way for children to learn about where food comes from. It takes patience, too. There is watering to be done, changes to watch for and plenty of waiting before anything is ready to harvest.

When the carrots were finally ready, the children helped pull them from the soil, discovering what had been growing underground.

From the garden to the kitchen

Of course, harvesting was only the beginning. Our carrots needed washing and chopping before they could be turned into soup.

The children got involved in preparing them, learning about the different stages of cooking and developing practical skills along the way.

Once the carrots were ready, our nursery cook, Georgia, took over in the kitchen and made a batch of homemade carrot soup.

We served the finished soup at our Autumnal Stay-and-Play morning, giving children the opportunity to share something they’d helped grow and prepare with their families.

Learning by doing

Projects like this bring together lots of different areas of learning without the need for a formal lesson.

The children learn about plants and growing, develop their fine motor skills through practical tasks and build their understanding of food and healthy eating. There are plenty of opportunities for conversation, problem-solving and working together, too.

Importantly, they get to see the whole process. Carrots don’t just come from a supermarket shelf, and soup doesn’t simply appear in a bowl!

Growing and preparing food also gives children the chance to become familiar with different vegetables in a relaxed, hands-on way. Even children who are less keen on eating vegetables can enjoy taking part in growing, washing and preparing them.

We’re pleased that our vegetable beds are becoming such a useful part of nursery life, and we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can grow, cook and eat together.

A big thank you to Georgia for turning our harvest into something everyone could share!

Blue Windmill Nursery, Rugby

Blue Windmill Nursery is based on Addison Road in Rugby, and provides childcare for babies, toddlers and preschool children.

If you are looking for a day nursery in Rugby, we would be delighted to show you around. Please get in touch to arrange your visit.