White chefs’ hats colored in rainbows and doodles filled the large kitchen as teachers warmly greeted visitors: “Welcome to our chaos!”
Greenfield-Central High School hosted cooking camps this month, thanks to GCHS teachers and teen members of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) club. The camps taught space-themed snacks for 27 eager youngsters ages 5-10; and international cooking for an additional 21 pre-teens.
And while “chaos” is one way to describe it, “joyful” is a better word. The camps not only taught fun recipes, but let GC teens mentor younger students and encourage them to be bold and try new things.
This is the third year the camps have been offered at GCHS as a way for high school students to earn money toward their FCCLA trip to a national conference, held every summer. Teacher Janelle Keusch says while kids can certainly cook at home with mom or dad, there’s just something extra special about trying new recipes with other kids.
“Cooking with friends is more fun,” she said.
The cooking camp is one of many programs offered this season through Greenfield-Central schools. While school is out for the summer, athletics and extracurriculars continue from basketball camps where high school students mentor younger kids; to band camp; to the Hancock County Children’s Theater with an upcoming musical for students across all four public schools in the county.
Keusch says she started the cooking camp three years ago, and many of the participants have been coming back every summer.
“Throughout the year, parents reach out and remind us how much their child loved cooking camp and, ‘When is the next one?’,” she said. “Many students will try the recipes at home and have already been asking when we will be sending them in an email. Many of the students have been a part of all three cooking camps.”
With dozens of helping hands eagerly wanting to crack every egg and stir every bit of frosting, the chaos is well under control because Keusch gives expectations on the first day of camp. Each teen helper has been in Keusch’s program in high school, so they know how to maintain order as well.
And every time they hear, “macaroni and cheese,” the students reply, “everybody freeze.” Their hands go up and wait for the next set of instructions.
Keusch also spends plenty of time prepping for the camps, including a large shopping trip for all of the ingredients, and pre-measuring some items.
The younger group made “martian” dirt pudding cups; rocket grilled cheese sandwiches; alien cheeseballs and more.
As Keusch walked around the room squirting drops of neon food coloring into frosting, she had to remind her younger group that a little bit goes a long way for their sugar cookie planets.
“You only get two colors, ok? If you get too many, it’ll turn brown.”
Nine-year-old Chrisina Sanchez says the pudding cups were her favorite.
“My mom said I could make the pudding and the cookies, and I’m gonna do all of them because this is the best camp ever!” she said.
Teens were happy to be in school this summer too, saying it’s a great opportunity to earn a little bit of money for their trip this summer to Washington D.C. to the national FCCLA conference.
“I just enjoy working with the kids and it’s just a lot of fun to be able to teach them something that I’ve been learning for so long,” said Sophia Kemp.
While she just graduated from high school, Kemp will compete this July at the national FCCLA conference, sharing her idea for a childcare facility in the “entrepreneurship” category.
Maria Hernandez, an incoming junior, says the cooking camp has been a lot of fun. She loves working with the younger children. Originally from Venezuela, Hernandez said she had to ask some of the children to slow down because they were talking too fast with excitement.
“Everyone is helping me out with English words,” she said, adding that she enjoys passing on her knowledge from high school to the children. “It’s really fun to help them to learn more.”
Dr. Harold Olin, superintendent of Greenfield-Central schools, says having older GC students willing to mentor younger children is a huge blessing. It inspires younger athletes and performers, and helps sustain the success of GC’s programs.
“From my perspective, it is a win-win scenario,” Olin said. “Our older students develop leadership skills through the mentoring, and our younger students are inspired by the older, ‘successful’ models they see in the program.”
Student leaders through the FCCLA program are fantastic ambassadors for Greenfield-Central, he added, because the organization promotes personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer science education. Character development, critical thinking skills, creativity and more are addressed throughout the school year, and these characteristics shine at the national conference.
And while school is out for the summer, Olin said opportunities for children of all ages to learn and grow still abound at Greenfield-Central schools.
“I am grateful for the GC staff, coaches and club sponsors who are willing to give up part of their summer to lead our programs in June and July,” Olin added. “These opportunities are critical for our community.”
In the busy GC kitchen classroom, the older group had a more laid-back vibe. Twenty-one pre-teens calmly donned their red aprons and chefs hats to experience international cooking.
The children ages 10-14 learned recipes from Spain, Greece and Japan. Keusch loves international cooking, and it’s fun to open their minds and palate.
Greek baklava received mixed reviews: there were expressions of both delight and disgust as the young chefs bit into the nut-filled filo pastry for the first time.
“It’s like a flaky cinnamon roll,” said Mason Shelley, adding that he can’t decide what his favorite dish was throughout cooking camp. ”I like so many things.”
His buddies Adam Ryba and Tommy Hansen had a different opinion on the baklava, saying the texture was odd.
“I’m going to give it to my Mimi,” Hansen said, referring to his grandma.
The boys agreed their international cooking camp is earning points at home: their parents and grandparents are pretty impressed that they can now make sushi, gyros and more.
Hansen said he may make some of the recipes at home, but it won’t be as fun as cooking camp with friends.
“There are so many other people, and you can enjoy it together like one big family,” he said.
Keusch, whose own daughter enjoyed the camp as well, said it’s been fun teaching the children.
“You enjoy food more when you play a role in making it, and it’s a fun way to have kids try new foods,” she said. “Another bonus is that students can see what we offer at the high school and hopefully take a culinary class. I hope kids learn to enjoy the cooking process and help prepare foods at home. We hope they enjoy cooperating with others and sharing the experience.”
By Maribeth Vaughn
“From my perspective, it is a win-win scenario,” Olin said. “Our older students develop leadership skills through the mentoring, and our younger students are inspired by the older, ‘successful’ models they see in the program.”