Strawberry Hulling (and eating!)

 

A wonderful and tasty practical life (food prep) activity is strawberry hulling.  Here the child learns how to place their fingers in the special tool.  (First they put on an apron, carry the tray to a table and wash their hands.)

The child then takes off the green part by pushing down the tip of the huller and twisting. 

 After she is done hulling she places the green part in a small bowl (to be throw away or composted later) and eats the yummy strawberry! 

Washing a cloth

Step 1:  Fill up the bucket.  (this is after the work has been set up and an apron or smock is put on).

 Step 2:  Get the cloth wet.

 Step 3:  Place the cloth on the board and rub soap on it. 

 Step 4:  Place the board on your belly and begin to scrub the cloth by moving it up and down.

 Step 5:  Rinse out the cloth and wring it as dry as possible.

Step 6:  Take to drying rack and use clothespins to secure. 

Step 7:  Repeat or clean up the work for the next child. 

In a Montessori environment, we encourage self-sufficiency.  Children at this age are learning to master their environment as well as the movements of their body.  Multi-step activities such as washing a cloth allows a child to have the opportunity to build confidence, independence and concentration.  At this point, most children will not be washing cloths with a washboard but this activity encourages concentration as the child becomes fully absorbed into their work.  If you were to observe this child you may have seen joy and serenity and a sense of accomplishment at the end. 

Table Washing (even the bottom)!

One of the favorite activities in the classroom for teachers and students is table washing.  This activity has so many benefits!  It is a multistep activity that allows concentration to develop.  On this day, two of the afternoon children decided to wash off pencil marks from the bottom of the tables.  We helped them flip the table over (after they looked under and found the markings) and they completed everything else.  They were so engrossed in this work!  At one point one of the children looked at me and said, "This is just too much fun!"  Such joy!

 

It is a gift to have time to complete a work like this and see the results!  After this table was finished, they asked to wash more tables! 

Sifting Flour

Last week the children were able to experience how to sift flour.  We always have a food prep activity on the shelves and this was one of two.  (The other was mashing a potato and eating it!)

We really feel multi-step activities such as this are great for developing concentration and organizational skills.  The child puts on an apron and takes the tray to the table. He then opens the flour container and scoops out some flour into the sifter.  He then squeezes the handle on the sifter and watches it come out of the bottom.  This child completed this activity for quite a while, demonstrating those concentration skills.  He was absorbed.

The last part of an activity like this is to clean up.  This child knows how to use a table brush and removed all of the flour so the table was ready for the next child. 

Graham cracker crushing

In our food prep area this week, we introduced "graham cracker crushing."  Here the child takes the tray to their work area, puts on an apron, washes hands and places a banana and a graham cracker on the tray.  They put the graham cracker in the mortar and pestle and grind it up.  Then, they peel the banana and slice it with the knife.  Using a toothpick, they dip a banana slice into the disposable bowl and eat!  Having multiple steps within activities helps the child learn how to follow directions and organize thoughts!  What a yummy way to do so!

Pancake Lunch- How to use a knife!

Learning how to use a knife can be tricky!  Even those of us with 11 year olds may find ourselves teaching them again at the dinner table.  To help the children in our classsroom learn how to use a knife, we decided to make a pancake lunch!

 Our daily lunch routine consists of getting the lunch box, setting the table with a plate, fork, knife, spoon and napkin, emptying the contents of the lunch on our plate and eating.  One utensil that is barely used is the knife.  So, on Tuesday, the children had a chance to 1.  spread butter and 2.  cut with that knife. 

First, the child must hold the knife in the dominant hand with the three outside fingers wrapped around, the pointer on top and the thumb wrapped around to meet the other fingers.  This is the same grip as the fork and is very strong.  The child is shown how to steady the pancake with the fork and then use the knife to make a sawing motion. 

The childen enjoyed their pancake lunch and now know the basics for using that knife.  A little extra practice at home and they will be on their way to cutting their own food! 

Meet "North" and "South"

This week we were so lucky to adopt two adorable dwarf hamsters!  They are a wonderful addition to our classroom!  We have had such fun watching them move about, watching them eat and fight with each other.  North and South were named by our afternoon children on Monday after deciding they should be named after the continents.  One child suggested North and South America and it was automatically shortened to North and South. 

These little guys are quite social!  Although they like to take naps during the day, often they are seen coming up to the sides and climbing up to get close to our faces.  They like to climb on top of their water bottle and run in their wheel!  We feed them every other day but often give them a cucumber slice as a treat! 

Tea with a friend!

 

After several weeks of crusing mint leaves in the mortar and pestle, we have now moved on to having tea with a friend!  We have hot water (hot tap water) in thermal carafe on a table along with tea cups, saucers, mint leaves and a mini French press.  The child who invites the friend puts a scoop of mint and then two pumps of water in the press.  They wait a bit and let the tea "steep" while having a chat.  We have show them that the water turns light green. 

 Once the tea is ready, the tea is poured into the guest's cup first. Then enjoy! 

 

The children love to engage in conversations while having tea!

Setting a table

Setting a table is a 'work' we have in our practical life shelves.  The children love to take this to a table and practice table setting!  This activity combined with our lunch (the children set the table with plates, forks, knives, spoons and napkins that we provide) makes our children quite civilized!  Try to include them in setting the table for dinner! 

Packing and Unpacking a Lunchbox

This is really practical!  On our practical life shelves this week we offered an activity that will help the children for a long time to come!  We packed up a lunchbox with various containers that would mimic what the children bring in for lunch each day.  For our lunch, they unpack their whole lunchbox and place it on a plate that we provide along with all of the necessary silverware. 

 The most difficult part of the lunch process for the children is opening the containers!  

With this work, the children can not only learn how to unzip the lunchbox but to open each of the containers and then pack it back up again. 

mint crushing

  

 As we did last year, we plan on introducing "having tea with a friend!"  To prepare the tea, we offered mint crushing as a practical life activity.   Children take a tray to a table, open the tin, place it in the mortar and pestle, crush and put in the container.  This is a multi-step activity that also smells good!

helping a friend

Socialization happens very naturally in our classroom.  We teach grace and courtesy such as how to ask for help, how to walk around someone's work, how to give a compliment...  As these children have learned to tie, they are now able to ask each other for help tying bows or knots! 

sewing a gator

 Sewing continues!  The children have decided to make neck warmers or "gators."  It is wonderful watching a group of children sewing gators and chatting away!

Here she chooses the material and the embroidery floss.

 VERY CAREFULLY, we use the stick pins to secure the material.

 Use a "whip stitch" to sew the side.  This is tougher than it looks!

 Finished product! 

Sewing Pouches and a Project Nearly Forgotten

 For another sewing work this week we introduced sewing a pouch.  Some children have become very proficient sewers and need very little extra help.  We used embroidery floss with felt to create the pouches.  We also decided to give the option of adding a button as they have had a lot of button practice in the past few weeks.  They only tricky part is threading the needle and tying a knot at the end.  We did introduce the children to the needle threader which really helped! 

This child made a pouch for everyone in her family!

The pouch sewing seemed to inspire another child who had taken a very long break from his stuffed animal sewing work.  This child decided to finish sewing and then we asked him to write a story about the snake.  He is a proficient reader and we are always looking for ways to help the writing process along.  He wrote several pages and took the snake and the book home with him Friday!  What an accomplishment!

Coffee Grinding

 Once again we put coffee grinding out on a table.  This was very popular last year as the children love to use the grinder and everyone likes the smell of the coffee.  To help with the independence aspect, we decided to clamp the grinder on the table instead of having to hold it for each child.  The child uses a small scoop and puts the whole beans into the top of the grinder.  They grind the beans and can hear when there are no more beans left to grind.

The drawer is opened and the grinds are then dumped into a large canister.  Last year we made coffee for the parents to enjoy at drop off.  We working out the logistics for this again this year.  We will keep you posted!

Food Preparation- Spreading Jam

 This week in the food preparation area, the children were able to learn how to spread jam on bread.  For each child, we used a new bowl of jam, a clean knife and new paper plate.

 The first step is to put on an apron and then wash their hands.  They ask a teacher for the jam and bread and carry it back to the tray.  They dip their (child sized) knife into the jam and put it on the bread. 

Then, they spread the jam on the bread.  Of course, the last step is to eat and enjoy!
Activities such as these help the child to become more independent and increases their fine motor skills. 

Making Cookies

Tis the season for baking!  On Thursday afternoons, the children are beginning to make cookie dough for baking on Friday morning.  So far we have made sugar cookies and oatmeal cookies. 

 First the children put on an apron and wash their hands.  Then they take a piece of dough and put it on the floured surface.  Using the rolling pin, they flatten the dough.

 A cookie cutter is used and then with a small spatula, they transfer the cookie to the baking pan. For the oatmeal cookies, we flattened with a fork before transferring to a pan.

 

 

Once there are enough cookies on the pan, a teacher will take the pan into the kitchen to bake the cookies.  Our school smells wonderful and before we head outside to play, everyone enjoys the fruits of their labor together!   They have all learned to wait until everyone is served before eating. 

                                                                       Bon Appetit!

Tying!

 

To teach children the skill of tying, we begin with the bow frame.  We break it down into many steps and it can take a while (!) to learn.  Tying can be tricky but with the bow frame, the children can see what ribbon goes where.  Several children are quite interested in this skill and we now have one child who can tie!  She is quite proud of herself and now other children ask her to tie their aprons for food prep or polishing work. 

 This little shoe was purchased using points from the Scholastic Book Orders.  Once the children have worked with the bow frame, they can tie using this pretend shoe.  The next step is to tie real shoes!  This is quite an accomplishment! The children feel very independent and proud!