Images are copyright and courtesy of Julie Rings Photography.)
This post is long overdue as I am still trying to catch up on all the posts I meant to write about the Montessori-inspired preschool co-op I did last summer. You will see that Hunter looks so much younger in these photos because he was! They were taken eight months ago, and my little man has changed so much since then... Anyway, the ideas I will share with you in this post are based on what we did at the co-op and what we have done at home. For the record, I don't do these activities with Hunter every day or even every week, although that would be awesome for him, I am sure.
Food preparation activities, by the way, are part of the Montessori area known as Practical Life (which I explained here), but of course they are not unique to Montessori education. The aspects that align these activities with Montessori principles are the adult's attitude (the goal is not to get the child to do it "correctly" or perfectly, for example) and the manner in which the adult presents them (with slow, deliberate lessons using color-coordinated materials).
Food preparation activities, by the way, are part of the Montessori area known as Practical Life (which I explained here), but of course they are not unique to Montessori education. The aspects that align these activities with Montessori principles are the adult's attitude (the goal is not to get the child to do it "correctly" or perfectly, for example) and the manner in which the adult presents them (with slow, deliberate lessons using color-coordinated materials).
I think including your young child in food preparation is one of the easiest Montessori principles to apply at home. Whether you are running a homeschool co-op or just looking for ways to help your child be more independent at home, there is no better way to boost confidence and teach fine motor skills than involving young children in food preparation. There are two ways to accomplish this: invite your child to prepare his or her own snack and invite your child to help prepare family meals.
SNACK TIME
Start by setting up an area of the kitchen with supplies your child will need to prepare his or her snack. Ideally the child would have a small table at which to work, but if space is limited (as it is in my home) the child can work at the kitchen table so long as it's easily accessible. (Hunter sits at the table in a Tripp Trapp, so it's easy for him to climb in and out.)
Your child should have access to plates, flatware, and ideally a pitcher and a cup to pour himself his own water. Then, depending on what snack you'd like to have available, you should provide a tray with all the materials your child will need to prepare the snack. The first time you offer the snack, you provide a lesson on how to prepare it. After that lesson, the child is free to prepare it on his or own, with your supervision of course. I am going to be honest -- Hunter does not do much snack preparation these days because it does require some planning and preparation on my part, but he does have access to boxes or containers of raisins that he can serve himself without asking. He can also open the fridge and grab an apple or a hard-boiled egg.
The following are some snack ideas followed by the materials you would need to have available on a tray so your child can prepare the snack in an orderly manner:
Dry foods
1. Spreading jam on crackers: container with sturdy crackers that the child can easily open, small jar with jam (or nut butter/hummus/cream cheese), spreading knife, small cutting board, dish for serving crackers, "protector" (a vinyl mat) to set up work space and keep it clean, moist sponge to wipe up messes, and an apron
2. Removing pistachio shells: container with pistachios with shells, small bowl for discarding shells, small serving bowl for ready-to-eat nuts, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, moist sponge to wipe up any mess, and an apron (You can also crack nuts with this complete set from Montessori Services.)
3. Peeling an egg: prepared hard boiled egg in a bowl, small bowl or dish for discarding shells, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, moist sponge to wipe up any mess, and an apron (Click here for a complete set from Montessori Services.)
Fruits
1. Pitting summer cherries: cherry pitter, small bowl or cup for cherries, small bowl or cup for serving pitted cherries, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron
2. Making summer melon balls: melon baller, cutting board with chunk of melon on top (I recommend using a small melon, cut in half, and then with another cut on bottom so that it does not roll around), a bowl for serving melon balls, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron
3. Preparing autumn apple slices: apple corer and slicer, cutting board with an apple cut in half, small bowl for discarding core, dish for serving apple slices, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron (Click here for a complete set from Montessori Services.)
4. Removing grapes from the stem: bowl with a bunch of grapes still on stem, bowl for serving grapes, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron
5. Peeling winter citrus: bowl with a couple of mandarin oranges, bowl for discarding peel, dish for serving segments, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron
6. Juicing an orange: hand juicer, bowl for orange halves, bowl to discard peel, small glass for serving juice, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up juice, and an apron (Click here for a complete set from Montessori Services.)
Vegetables
1. Cucumber/zucchini/yellow squash slices with dip: wavy veggie chopper, cutting board with prepared cucumber (I like to peel some of the skin off and cut it in half), dish for serving cucumber, dish with dip already prepared (ranch dressing or hummus kept on a low shelf in the fridge), protector to set up work space and keep it clean, sponge to wipe up any messes, and an apron
2. Celery boats with peanut butter and raisins: (child will spread peanut butter in the boats and stick raisins to the peanut butter) prepared celery boats, jar or bowl with peanut butter, small bowl or dish with raisins, cutting board for work space, dish for serving snack, spreading knife, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, moist sponge to wipe up any mess, and an apron
2. Celery boats with peanut butter and raisins: (child will spread peanut butter in the boats and stick raisins to the peanut butter) prepared celery boats, jar or bowl with peanut butter, small bowl or dish with raisins, cutting board for work space, dish for serving snack, spreading knife, protector to set up work space and keep it clean, moist sponge to wipe up any mess, and an apron
MEAL TIME
I think family meal prep is the easiest way to involve your child in the kitchen because you can adapt almost any part of meal preparation to something manageable for your child. Here are some tasks that Hunter can help with. Just FYI, he is three years old, so some older preschoolers can do much more to help out.
1. Chop zucchini, yellow squash, or cucumbers. I cook zucchini quite a bit, either sauteed or simmered in vegetable soup, so I just hand Hunter his wavy veggie chopper and a cutting board and let him go! I also always provide a large bowl for him to transfer the veggies he has chopped. Likewise, he can chop cucumbers for our salads.
2. Pit the olives. This isn't the easiest task because the tool is better suited for pitting cherries, but Hunter loves this activity.
3. Crack the eggs. This is pretty messy, but I find that Hunter gets a little bit better at it each time, plus he loves it.
4. Wash the root veggies. At the table, I set up carrots or potatoes in a pile on the left, a large bowl of water in the middle, and a kitchen towel on the right. Working left to right, I invite him to take one vegetable, put it in the bath, and scrub it with this brush. Then he sets it on the right to dry.
5. Spread pizza toppings. Cheese, olives, chopped veggies -- whatever you've prepared for your homemade pizza, your child will love to arrange on top. This one does require quite a bit of modeling unless you are going for a quattro stagioni type pizza ;)
I don't ever force any of these activities on Hunter. Instead, I invite him to help me. Some days he is interested, but most days he is not, so I just let him continue whatever he is doing. I want him to want to help in the kitchen not see it as a chore. If you have any other food prep ideas for young children, please share them in the comments! Living Montessori Now has a great resource here if you like this topic and would like more ideas.
SHOPPING LIST
You can purchase many of these items through Montessori Services (M.S.) or Amazon.
-small bowls
-small serving dishes
-protectors (vinyl mats sold as a set* or individually)
-sponges cut into smaller rectangles
-trays with handles
-small jars (found some at our local Daiso shop)
-spreading knives/spreaders
(This 6-piece set has several useful items.)
*These are products I own and recommend.
These are some really wonderful ideas! I love including Stella in my food prep when I can, especially when I bake.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the blog is looking really great!! Love the new look.