A pancake party was the culmination of Mrs. Regan Brereton-Waller’s Grade 5 class experiment at Virden Junior High. The class discovered how to make maple syrup from the trees right outside their school.
They learned to identify Manitoba maples, or box elders, by their helicopter seeds and warty rough bark.
As soon as the sap began to flow, they drilled the maples, collecting the sap in a large water jug. The students were surprised at how little actual syrup resulted after it was boiled down.
The culmination of this hands-on learning was the taste test. Each student was provided with a little cup of two kinds of syrup – Manitoba maple syrup and Quebec maple syrup.
Mrs. BW (her classroom name) brought home cooked pancakes to serve for this Friday morning maple syrup tasting session, along with real butter for the pancakes and a glass of milk. But that’s not all. “Next up,” says Mrs. BW, “I made a little whipping cream.”
“Oh, it’s homemade!” came a student’s response. The whip cream making method was revealed, as well.
During the pancake party energy was high and remarks were flying: “it tastes like coffee,” “augh,” “this is the syrup my grandma uses…”
And the taste test was complete. Surprisingly not everyone was sold on either kind of real maple syrup. One student called for Aunt Jemima, which Mrs. BW happened to have on hand.
Mrs. BW regularly incorporates teaching about Indigenous history. To close the learning circle, the class answered questions. Apparently, a squirrel licking sap on a tree trunk led First Nations to discover this sweet liquid. It’s thought they collected it in hardened log bowls and condensed it on a bed of hot rocks, using deer horns as oven mitts.
Good manners included a thankful attitude at the pancake party.
