Schedule a Tour
(401) 783 3222
[email protected]
1150 Boston Neck Road, Narragansett, RI 02882
Quest Montessori School Quest Montessori School
  • Montessori
    • Maria Montessori
    • The Education
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • About
    • The Quest Mission
    • Our History
    • Our Families
      • Parent Education
      • Quest Community Organization (QCO)
    • After Quest
      • Our Alumni
    • Faculty
      • Employment
    • Board of Directors
    • The Blog
  • Programs
    • Toddlers
    • Primary
    • Lower Elementary
    • Upper Elementary
    • Middle School
      • Narrow River Naturals
    • Projects and Experiences
    • Enrichment
      • Visual Arts
      • Music
      • Spanish
      • Physical Education
    • Extended Care
    • Vacation & Summer Camp
  • Admissions
    • Discover Quest
    • Admissions Events
    • Admissions Process
      • Schedule A Tour
      • Application Forms
    • Testimonials
    • After Quest
  • Giving
    • Donate to Quest
  • Blog
  • COVID-19 INFO
  • Contact
  • Montessori
    • Maria Montessori
    • The Education
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • About
    • The Quest Mission
    • Our History
    • Our Families
      • Parent Education
      • Quest Community Organization (QCO)
    • After Quest
      • Our Alumni
    • Faculty
      • Employment
    • Board of Directors
    • The Blog
  • Programs
    • Toddlers
    • Primary
    • Lower Elementary
    • Upper Elementary
    • Middle School
      • Narrow River Naturals
    • Projects and Experiences
    • Enrichment
      • Visual Arts
      • Music
      • Spanish
      • Physical Education
    • Extended Care
    • Vacation & Summer Camp
  • Admissions
    • Discover Quest
    • Admissions Events
    • Admissions Process
      • Schedule A Tour
      • Application Forms
    • Testimonials
    • After Quest
  • Giving
    • Donate to Quest
  • Blog
  • COVID-19 INFO
  • Contact

Connected Home Learning

  • Home
  • Connected Home Learning
  • Making Space for Children in the Kitchen

Making Space for Children in the Kitchen

  • Posted by Quest Montessori School
  • Categories Connected Home Learning, Montessori, Parenting
  • Date May 21, 2020

One of the many joyful aspects of a Montessori environment is food preparation. Learning how to prepare one’s own food is a critical life skill, and it has always been a part of Montessori learning. While toddlers learn to sit together and gracefully serve and share food, at age three our primary students begin to prepare it for themselves. Even in classrooms for older students, guides find ways to work in this important practice for children. There are plenty of ways you can support your child’s developing skills at home.

Start Small: Give Mini-Lessons

We treat food prep the same as we would any other subject. We teach small skills in isolation and with intention. Parents can work the same approach into their kitchens at home. Simply demonstrate what to do, then give your child a chance to try it for themselves. The following are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Cutting and Slicing: We don’t recommend giving your four-year-old your sharpest knife, but there are lots of good options to teach this skill safely. Whether you choose to use a butter knife or try a kid-friendly wavy chopper, learning to cut and slice are good first skills to teach. Think cucumbers, celery, boiled eggs, bananas...whatever they like to eat is a great place to start!
  2. Spreading: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Utilize a variety of spreads and surfaces, like cream cheese on bagels, nut butter on celery, butter on toast, or hummus on a cracker.
  3. Mixing: Stirring and blending are natural next steps. Children can learn to whisk eggs, make instant pudding, or help combine ingredients for a meal you're putting together.
  4. Using Various Tools: Once they’ve mastered the above mentioned skills, your child is ready to learn how to use other tools, including a melon baller, vegetable peeler, cheese grater, rubber spatula, potato masher, juicer, tongs, or an ice cream scoop. Introducing a wide variety of tools will keep them engaged and interested.
  5. Using Heat: Once you feel your child is ready you can begin to introduce recipes that require heat. Start simple: teach them how to make their own toast. You can then move on to whatever works for your family. They may enjoy making pancakes, rice, tea, or popcorn.
  6. Measuring: While measuring is critical to following recipes and learning to cook, it’s also an excellent way to bring math into the kitchen. They sky’s the limit on this one. You could teach your child to follow family recipes or discover new ones together!
Making Space for Children in the Kitchen 1

Provide Opportunities For Practice

Food preparation shouldn’t be a one-time experience. The long term goal is to encourage children to gain skills independently while building up their interest and confidence. To do this, we must give kids ongoing opportunities to get into the kitchen and make food for themselves and for others.

Find ways to make this work for you. Once your child has a few skills mastered, perhaps they can be in charge of preparing their own daily snacks. As they get a bit older, they can take on the responsibility of making their own lunch, or even someday preparing dinner for their family!

Encourage Independence and Exploration

It can be tempting to come up with a plan and force our children to stick to it. It is helpful to remember, however, that “follow the child” is our motto, and for good reason. Perhaps you planned to have your child learn to chop carrots while helping you prepare dinner, but they are suddenly really into apples. Take cues from their interests and the experience will be far more rewarding for them (and for you, too!).

Whenever possible, step back and let them take over. The key is teaching them a skill so that they may master it themselves. As children get older, let them explore cookbooks and even begin to create recipes of their own.

Making Space for Children in the Kitchen 2

Teach About Nutrition

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with teaching your child how to whip up a batch of cookies, food prep at home is a great way to teach your child about healthy eating. As you work with various ingredients it can be nice to talk about their benefits. We all enjoy the pleasure derived from eating delicious food, but knowing on a scientific level how different foods are beneficial to our bodies adds an extra layer of interest.

Give Trust...and Make Room For Errors

Within reasonable safety parameters, try to step back and let your child make mistakes. Mistakes are a critical part of learning, and we need to let them happen (even if that means a little more work). There will be spills. There will be smudgy faces. There will be burnt baked goods. There may even be a splatter or two on the wall. Let it happen.

This is a nice time for us to recognize that food prep is part of the Montessori practical life curriculum. Another important part of practical life is cleaning. They may need help at first, but you can teach them to wipe up those messes!

We hope this post will inspire you to get your child into the kitchen more, and we know they will love it! Enjoy the successes, embrace the messes, and have fun eating together.

  • Tweet
  • Pinterest
Quest Montessori School

Previous post

Cultivating Resilience: A Book List
May 21, 2020

Next post

Embracing Diversity from a Young Age
4 June, 2020

You may also like

  • Quest Montessori Middle School Estuary Field Studies
    Middle School Estuary Field Studies
    23 April, 2021
  • 1 Primary Mixed Age Thread Needle
    Montessori Mixed-Age Classrooms
    28 January, 2021
  • A Few Words About Harmony in Montessori Art and Music 2
    A Few Words About Harmony in Montessori Art and Music
    16 December, 2020

Subscribe to
the Quest Blog

Sign up to receive the latest updates from the Quest Blog:

Subscribe

Blog Categories

  • Art (9)
  • Books (8)
  • Connected Home Learning (6)
  • Events (10)
  • Head of School Blog (16)
  • Lower Elementary (17)
  • Middle School (57)
  • Middle School Student Newsletter (33)
  • Montessori (15)
  • Music (4)
  • Narragansett Bay Study (5)
  • News & Notes (1)
  • Parenting (22)
  • Primary (17)
  • Quest at a Glance (9)
  • Quest News (71)
  • Quest Videos (14)
  • School News (74)
  • Toddler (14)
  • Upper Elementary (20)

Archives

  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • October 2015
  • January 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011

Quest Montessori School

1150 Boston Neck Road
Narragansett, RI 02882

P (401) 783 3222
F (401) 783 3229

AISNE Accredited Montessori School Rhode Island
AMS Pathway
American Montessori Accredited School

Non Discriminatory Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discrimination based on race, color, national origin...
Read more »

Title IX Policy »

Quest Montessori School · All Rights Reserved

  • Montessori
  • About Us
  • Programs
  • Admissions
  • Giving
  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy