Fun with Montessori Apple Coring, Slicing, Spreading, and Sharing {Montessori Monday}

It was time for another tea party! My 2¾-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, had been asking for one. So we decided on a starting school tea party. Last week, I was looking for a snack Zoey could prepare for the tea party. I decided that apple slices with peanut butter would be a perfect addition to our miniature blueberry muffins. (Note: Watch on Wednesday for our starting school or back-to-school tea party!)

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Our Food Preparation Activities

Zoey typically wears the apron from the Montessori By Mom Helping Hands Toolbox for food preparation activities. This time, she was wearing a Montessori services apron, although any child-size apron is great for cooking or baking activities. We often use the Learning Tower so that Zoey can safely and comfortably reach everything. Sometimes she works at her snack/work table, like she did to prepare the apple snack.

Fun with Montessori Apple Coring, Slicing, Spreading, and Sharing – YouTube Video

As part of our starting Montessori school preparations, we had been practicing taking turns and working together. You can see how that extends naturally into sharing in this video. I was so proud of Zoey for spontaneously putting someone else (her grandpa) first and sharing her apple snack with him.

Helpful Tools for Preparing Apple Snacks for Preschoolers

Tray with Materials for Coring and Slicing an Apple and Preparing an Apple Snack with Nut Butter

• Large Plastic Tray from Montessori Services
• Child-Size Apron
• Vegetable Scrub Brush
• Cutting Board (Ours is from The Dollar Tree)
• Small Condiment Bowls or Tapas Bowls for Peanut Butter and Raisins
• Snack Plate
• Apple corer/slicer
• Child-Size Spreader

Preparing Apple Slices with Nut Butter

Many preschoolers can prepare this snack from start to finish, although younger preschoolers will need help at the beginning of the apple coring and slicing. Toddlers can spread on the nut butter.

Adapt the instructions as needed for your toddler or preschooler. The important part is for your toddler or preschooler to prepare as much of the snack independently as possible. This is great for concentration, fine-motor skills, independence, and following a series of steps.

Montessori Coring and Slicing an Apple

For a young preschooler like Zoey, this type of apple corer typically requires too much strength for the child to core and slice the apple completely independently. I started the apple coring and slicing and pushed the corer down far enough into the apple that Zoey was able to finish it on her own.

Preparing Snack by Spreading Nut Butter on an Apple Slice

Spreading is a useful skill for toddlers and preschoolers to work on. Zoey has had lots of fun spreading for activities such as preparing ants on a log. We used organic peanut butter for the apple slices, although you can use a different nut butter or spread if you prefer.

Ready to Share an Apple Slice with Nut Butter for Snack

Here Zoey is ready to share an apple slice with her grandpa. She even chose to give him an apple slice before preparing her own!

Here’s the work we did the week before on taking turns and working together. In the post, you’ll find resources for presentations, songs, and books that all reinforce important social skills. Zoey likes to practice these lessons whenever she can now.

You’ll find many more Montessori-inspired apple activities in this Montessori-inspired apple unit.

Montessori Monday Link-Up

Except for content, this is now a no-rules linky. If you have some Montessori-inspired activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. They can be for home or classroom. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! Your post may be any Montessori-inspired activity or idea. It doesn’t need to be related to my Montessori Monday post.

If you’re wondering what’s considered “Montessori inspired” and what to link up (or not link up), check out my “What Is Montessori Inspired?” post. Link up your exact post URL so that we can find your activity if we return to the linky at a later date. Don’t link to giveaway posts (unless the giveaway is only part of a Montessori-inspired post). Giveaways in general should go on my giveaway linky. Also, don’t link directly to products. You can link up a review of a Montessori product or activity post related to a Montessori product.

I publish the Montessori Monday post and linky each Monday morning and keep the linky open throughout the week. I do a lot of sharing on the Living Montessori Now Facebook page from the Montessori Monday link-up. Thanks for participating!

Notes: For community discussions, please join us at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page. And don’t forget the Saturday/Sunday weekend sharing days where you may share a kid-related activity of any kind at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page!

It’s also Motivational Monday on Mondays! I invite you to share something positive on the Bits of Positivity Facebook page (Bits of Positivity is my other blog) to help us all get a good start on the work/school week. You might share an inspirational or motivational quote, positive graphic, or post about finding balance or simplifying your life. Or you might share a post on organizing, an encouraging post, a post about making a difference in the world, or a positive parenting post. Just go ahead and share on the Bits of Positivity wall any time today! (Please “like” the Bits of Positivity Facebook page if you haven’t already.) I’ll be pinning a number of ideas to my regular Pinterest boards.

If you have a giveaway on your blog, please add it to my Family-Friendly Giveaway Linky Page! If you enjoy entering giveaways, you’ll always find lots of great giveaways there.

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy! I’m also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

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Learn more about Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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May be linked to Practical Mondays Link Up, Afterschool Express, Thoughtful Spot, Hip Homeschool Hop,The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions, A Little Bird Told Me Linky Party, Everything Early Childhood,Learn and Play, Link-ups at Squishable Baby, Preschool Corner, Sharing Saturday, Tot School Gathering Place.