"What Do You Think of My Crueller?"

“What do you think of my crueller?”, the young boy asked. ... I had not expected the question and thought for a while about what my response should be. Mary was standing by, waiting for me to answer. I was in no hurry.

I sat down on one of the small student chairs.... (I wanted to be in his ‘physical space’ at eye level, an important communicating behaviour, I believe, when speaking to a child... He had asked a question inviting an adult’s opinion of something he had done, a courageous act on his part.)

“It’s not important what I think. ... It’s important what you think”, I responded.  I continued to add that he had two options open to him: re-make the doughnut or leave it as is.... He thought for a moment and did not hesitate to make a new one, a more defined, expertly crafted crueller, born of experience and many practice sessions.  He relaxed and continued to work. 

On previous occasions, Mary’s students had made braided bread, tiny doughnuts-(for distribution at the main office), beaver tails, and pizza, sold by the slice to staff members of the school.... Making the beaver tails, a misshapen thinly stretched piece of dough was a class favourite. ... (At Country Fairs beaver tails generally sold for $3.75 or more for only one with a topping of your choice.  A captive audience made this high price possible). ... Here in the classroom, the students learned of the cost savings and immediate satisfaction of ‘homemade’ and the possible health benefits.)

Using the thumbs to manipulate the dough while stretching and resting it gingerly on the rest of the hand was not an easy task for these small hands but it was fun, nonetheless. ... Creating these delicious masterpieces, using leftover dough, empowered the students.... Creativity = empowerment.  The talents of the class were quickly becoming evident. ... Dinner rolls were also a class favourite. Making dozens at a time of bowknots, cloverleaf, and others kept the students interested, on their game and made subjects such as division, subtraction, addition and multiplication the fun and meaningful activities they were in illustrating the equitable distribution of the “assembly- line-made” rolls. ... Which mathematical equation would we use to assign a number for each student, his lot to take home? The discussion element here was fascinating.

The making of the rolls offered another example of eye/hand co-ordination. The plastic brain, like the dough, was being manipulated as the child was being engaged in many ways and on many levels. The use of hands in the constant rolling of small amounts of dough for multiple uses, long strips for making flowers, trim and other rolls gave the students something rarely developed before the age of 9: a skill that would carry them into the future, in a multitude of ways. ....

Confidence does not manifest itself in only one way. Repetition aids the child, especially, the special needs child, to overcome poor self-esteem, a barrier to life success and learning. ... With yeast dough, the changing of one ingredient changes the end result. Yeast dough is a stepping stone into  other new experiences! The move, into the world of pasta, in all of its many types and techniques - all handmade - is a trajectory made possible because of working with yeast dough. It was an easier skill to master. With the addition of fat added into the main dough, we move into the realm of the skilled pastry master whose repertoire of danish pastries, croissants and other high end products are now doable. ... The choices were limitless as were the discussions about what we were doing. Confidence began to sour as did language fluency.

In the end, the child learns self sufficiency at an early age. The bathing of the brain in these positive chemicals changes brain structure... The sensory activation of parts of the brain that may be silent is awakened or re-awakened in a basic way as language and higher order thinking begin their ascent into the minds of these special children. The implications and applications of yeast dough had just begun!! ...