As play in the bakery continues, children have been incorporating new ideas and themes. Production has been relocated and all items are now prepared on the premises of the bakery itself. Counter service has expanded to take out and boxed lunches.
Observing this play, we felt a visit to the deCordova Cafe would expose the children to the behind the scene workings of food services and introduce them to additional aspects of running such an establishment.
Interestingly, some children were unaware of the cafe just feet from our studio. Others confidently led the group to the entrance.
Case – I know how to get there. Nico leaded
me to the cafe.
Jonah – I know too. Diane took me.
Often the children surprise us by what piques their interest. On studying the food counter at the cafe they immediately zeroed in on the dog treats for sale.
Alex – I see dog snacks..
Elliott – They’re shaped like a bone.
Alex asks Britney, who is working behind the counter. Why do you have doggy cookies in your bakery?
Britney – Dogs come to the park and get hungry.
Elliot – What park?
Britney – The deCordova park.
Elliott – It’s too small for dogs!
As they continued to look around more thoughts were triggered as they watched Britney working behind the counter.
Wes – That looks like coffee.
Alex – With shaving cream. We need a coffee machine.
Avery – I see the cash register.
Case – Them have money in there. Real money, right?
Tait – Can you show us?
Wes – An oven door. (It is actually a small refrigerator)
Britney – We actually have four refrigerators.
The children ask Britney if she has rainbow cake or ice cream (just as we do in Studio Yellow.)
Britney – We don’t have those but we have cookies. We don’t make the cookies here.
Wes spying a door in the wall – Where does that door go?
Britney – It’s a storage closet.
Just as we have discovered during our many walks throughout the sculpture park – it is also those spaces in between that oftentimes are of great interest to the children.