Living Montessori Now

Montessori Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Favorite Recipes for Preschoolers Are Often the Easiest

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Cookin' cards: individualized cooking recipes. (Photo from Montessori Services)

Cookin’ Cards: Individualized Cooking Recipes. (Photo from Montessori Services)

As preschoolers, my children loved to help me cook and bake. Some of their favorite recipes, though, were the easiest, allowing them to demonstrate independence and self-discipline.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.

I made the following items available at home:

  • A few low shelves in the kitchen with my children’s food-preparation supplies
  • Real vegetable peelers and other child-sized kitchen utensils
  • Picture-based recipe cards when possible
  • A kitchen step stool so my children could easily reach the counter when helping me
  • A child-sized table for food preparation when working independently
  • A child-sized apron to give importance to the food-preparation activity and provide a beginning and ending to the task

Ants on a Log

A favorite recipe was Ants on a Log. I liked to use recipe cards similar to those in the photo.

For Ants on a Log, I had the celery, scrub brush, safe knife, cutting board, peanut butter, and raisins set out in an orderly fashion when I first introduced the recipe. As my children became comfortable with food preparation, they were able to prepare recipes with little or no help from me.

Here is another great food-preparation resource: a list of cooking activities from Montessori Mom. The article is called “Cooking with Kids and Learning the Alphabet too!”

UPDATE: This post was featured in 30 Fun Finger Foods for Kids at Circle of Moms.

Linked with Discover and Explore: Cooking with Kids.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Stacey says

    I love that you are reminding us that it does not have to be difficult to cook with little ones. They just want to be 'doing' what mom is doing!

    Thanks!

    Stacey

    from the HS Village

    Reply

    • Deb Chitwood says

      Thanks for visiting and for your comment, Maureen! The article has two recipes for each letter except w, x, and y, so there are lots of great ideas. I’m sure your preschooler would love a lot of the activities.

      Reply

  6. Cherees says

    Thanks so much for sharing this! I never thought about have the picture recipe cards when Sephy was little. I will have to remember that one if I ever have another little one. 🙂

    Reply

    • Deb Chitwood says

      Thanks, Cherees! I really liked using picture recipe cards both when I had a Montessori school and for my own children. Even if children can read, the cards still seem to make the food-preparation process simpler and clearer.

      Reply

  8. JDaniel4's MOm says

    Stopping from Mom Loop! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I love the idea of recipes with pictures. I need to work on some for my son.

    Reply

    • Deb Chitwood says

      Thanks for stopping by—have a wonderful weekend, too! Picture recipe cards do work well. We didn’t have digital scrapbooking when my children were young, but that would be an easy (and professional looking) way to make picture cards if you didn’t want to make them by hand.

      Reply

  9. Hot Cookin' Chi says

    I love the picture recipe cards idea! And I'm happy to see more bloggers talking about how much fun it is to have children help cook in the kitchen! My kids love to help me cook.

    Reply

  10. Jenny, Home is Where says

    Ants on a log is still one of my kids' favorite treats, and they are all big now!

    we also really liked fishing for goldfish crackers- you put goldfish crackers in a bowl and then put a big dob of peanut butter and give the kids a straw. they dipp the straw (fishing rod) into the peanut butter and 'catch' the goldfish. They thought it was grand!

    Reply

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