As part of their topic this term, Year 3 children visited the nearby Tesco store to meet staff members Sandra and Leanne who had prepared a selection of mystery breads for tasting.

The bread tasting activity supports the year 3 topic this term that includes the study of Roman culture. It also provides an opportunity for children to think about how their present day eating habits differ from - and are in some ways similar to - those of past civilisations.

Children worked in small teams to identify six different types of mystery bread. Some breads were familiar to look at, while others didn't look like the bread that the children might normally eat. Some breads were sweet, some savory and one or two tasted very unusual indeed. After tasting, each team was asked to show how much they liked the bread by awarding each type of bread a score out of ten, with ten being the best. Popular favourites were Welshcakes, Brioche and Garlic and Tomato Flatbread. Less popular were Muffin and Chiabatta and least favourite was Soda Bread, which failed to score highly but did make children pull some very strange faces!

After tasting the breads, everyone was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the store. Children saw how different types of food are stored before they go on display, including chilled and frozen foods that have to be looked after very carefully. Classes also saw how recycling is an important process at the Tesco store, with much of the waste being carefully sorted and sent for recycling.

The following day, having learned about different types of bread, Sandra and Leanne visited school and baked a selection of bread rolls with children.

We would like to extend out thanks to the staff at the Tesco store in Hook for making all the children welcome and contributing to the enrichment of this topic.