Apple Slicing

Apple slicing is one of the most basic food prep activities in the Montessori classroom.  It's a great way to get kids in the habit of washing their hands and putting on an apron before any cooking work.  The process is also not very long and a child only needs to be able to use a whole hand grasp.  This is the first grasp in the practical life lessons, meaning that a 2 year old could do it.

Apple Slicing
1.   Put on apron.
2.  Wash hands.
3.  Use tongs to place one cross section of apple in the leftmost bowl.
4.  Take tray to table.
5.  Sit down and place apple cross section on cutting board.
6.  Use both hands with apple slicer and push down on apple cross section.
7.  Pick up apple slicer slowly.
8.  Remove core from apple slicer and place in compost.
9.  Place sliced apple pieces in bowl on right.
10.  Ask child, "Would you like a piece of apple?".
11.  Continue to walking around room asking other children who are not in the middle of a work or lesson if they would like a piece of apple.
12.  Push in chair.
13.  Replace tray on shelf.

Gingerbread People

The Set-Up

(flour for dusting the work station, gingerbread, cookie cutters, rolling pin, work mat)

This can be done with dough that you make or dough that is made the day before with the kids.  I rolled the gingerbread into balls so each child could have up to four gingerbread people.

Action Shot

Here is a link to my favorite gingerbread recipe at the moment.

Gingerbread Recipe 

Now that I am so behind in posting this, I plan on doing this again with sugar cookies for Valentine's day. Yay!  My favorite holiday!

Pumpkin Polishing and Pumpkin Seeds

Above is the set-up for pumpkin polishing.  This would be on the shelf with a container full of cotton balls and a container full of q-tips that are broken in half.  I figure you could still do this for Thanksgiving and harvest.

Pumpkin Polishing

1. Invite the child to the lesson, "I would like to show you pumpkin polishing".

2. Remove tray from shelf and place in the upper left hand corner of a table.

3. Remove mat from tray and lay out on table.

4. Remove all items from the tray placing on mat with the pumpkin in the middle.

5. Pick up pitcher and state, "I'm going to go fill this up with water".

6. Fill the pitcher up with water and pour water into bowl.

7. Dip q-tip into water and using circular motions polish a section of the pumpkin.

8. Lay q-tip on mat and pick up the cotton ball.  Using circular motions, polish the section of the pumpkin that you just polished with the q-tip.

9.  Pick up q-tip and cotton ball, stating, "I'm going to go throw these in the trash".  

10. Place all materials back on tray as they were initially laid out.

11. Rotate mat so that it is easily rolled up from a sitting position.  Roll up mat.

12. Return tray to shelf.

13.  State, "I'm going to get this ready for the next person".  Place one cotton ball and one q-tip in each of the little bowls.

14. Ask if the child would like to try.

 After you polish the pumpkin, remove the seeds...

Tamari/Soy Sauce Pumpkin Seeds
Seeds from 1 pumpkin
enough canola oil to coat the pumpkin seeds
enough soy sauce or tamari to coat the pumpkin seeds (about 1-2 teaspoons)

Bake at 325* for approximately 20-30 minutes.  When the seeds have a deep dark caramelized look, they will be finished.

Blueberry pancakes

Pancakes were the first thing I ever made for anybody.  I used the Joy of Cooking recipe for buttermilk pancakes adding vanilla or cinnamon, depending on my mood.  I figure, everybody loves pancakes on a weekend morning, or in this case, a school day morning.

The Very Best Pancakes 
from the Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 Tbs. butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla or cinnamon (If making blueberry pancakes, omit both)

1. Combine the dry ingredients.
2. Combine the wet ingredients.
3. Combine dry and wet ingredients.
4. Heat griddle.  Heat 1 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. canola oil on griddle.
5. When griddle is hot, pour pancake batter onto griddle and cook.
6. Flip pancake with a spatula and continue cooking until golden brown.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes
adapted from the Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbs. butter, melted

2 eggs, separated

8 oz. blueberries

1. Combine the dry ingredients.

2. Combine the sour cream, milk, melted butter, and egg yolks.

3. Beat egg whites until they have formed soft peaks.

4. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients, except for the egg whites.

5. Once dry and wet ingredients are combined, fold in the egg whites.

6. Heat 1 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. canola oil on griddle.  

7. When griddle is hot, pour pancake batter onto griddle and cook.

8.  Scatter blueberries on the side of the pancake that has not yet cooked.  This keeps the blueberries from turning the pancake blue.

9. Flip with a spatula and continue cooking until golden brown.

Pancake Toppings

butter and real maple syrup

butter and strawberry jam

butter and homemade jam

peanut butter and jelly

bacon and real maple syrup

a fried egg

Roll pancake around a sausage (piggies in a blanket)

Zucchini Apple Muffins

Actual Quote:  "Ms. Katie, Ms. Katie!  I don't taste the green stuff, I only taste the muffin part."

Recipe
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated apple
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350*.

1.  Line 24 muffin cups with liners.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and sugar.  Then add the zucchini, apple, and vanilla.
3.  In another bowl, combine the two flours, the pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon and nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4.  Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
5.  Divide batter into muffin tin.

Bake for approximately 22 minutes.

Figs with yogurt

Here is a link to my other blog about figs.




We sliced and diced and cooked the figs with a little sugar.  Then we ate them over vanilla yogurt.  It was a very sophisticated yogurt experience.  We also tried them raw on Wednesday.  Several children loved the inside of the fig, but not the skin.

  

angel hair with cherry tomatoes and basil

First we washed them...

Then we sliced them...

Then we stirred...

and added some basil and olive oil...

Recipe

2 pints cherry tomatoes

3/4 cup olive oil

10-20 basil leaves

1 pound angel hair

salt to taste

1. Slice cherry tomatoes in half.  Using a serrated knife helps with the ease of cutting.

2. Add olive oil and salt and stir.  One of the children stirred it for about 10 minutes and it made it really delicious.

3. Tear basil leaves and throw into bowl with tomatoes.

4. Cook angel hair al dente and spoon into bowl with tomatoes.  It's okay if there is a bit of the pasta water as it helps give it a more sauce-like consistency.

Montessori activities:  cutting, tearing, spooning, stirring