,

Practical Life: Food Preparation

Working in the kitchen is a wonderful way to include children in everyday family activities; not only will children learn practical life skills but they will be engaged on a sensory level, too.

Food Prep tutorial with St Andrew's Montessori

If this is something you’d like to do more of at home, the first step is to prepare an environment for your children to work from: a cupboard they can reach, with utensils they can use stored inside, as well as a shelf in the fridge where they can access ingredients. The idea behind this ordered space is to nurture independence, which builds confidence and self-esteem – skills necessary to flourish in life.

The possibilities are endless but My Works Montessori has articulated three specific activities that your child will get excited about:

Banana Slicing

You will need: a tray, butter knife, two containers.

Orange Juice

Fruit Kebabs

You will need: tray, plate, butter knife, skewer, easy-to-cut fruit.

(You might also need a stool or chair so that your child will be able to reach the counter to do their slicing.)

Watch the below video to see how the lessons are applied:

The idea is to show the lesson to your child and then allow them to do it independently. Allowing them partake of the fruits of their labours (a slice of banana or a cup of orange juice) upon completion of the task will be a wonderful reward, and be sure to encourage cleaning up afterwards; wash and dry utensils, and pack them away.

Other food preparation activities that children might enjoy in the kitchen are:

  • Peeling carrots
  • Spreading butter/cheese on bread/crackers
  • Peeling fruit (bananas, satsumas)
  • Peeling and slicing hard-boiled eggs
  • Baking: cracking eggs into a bowl, mixing ingredients, rolling dough with a rolling pin.

The possibilities are endless!

If you’d like further information about this tutorial, feel free to contact us at info@standrewsmontessori.com. We’re happy to answer any questions.

Photo by Hannah Tasker on Unsplash