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Cutting with a Knife from Montessori at Home!

September 30, 2013 By Deb Chitwood 19 Comments

I’m a real fan of Montessori food preparation activities. Having young children use real knives is something many parents worry about, though. John Bowman’s Montessori at Home eBook has a section on cutting with knives – right after his “Cutting with Scissors” section. Here’s a helpful and reassuring excerpt from Montessori at Home on cutting with a knife. (Note: Because my blog dimensions are different, the layout won’t be the same as in the Montessori at Home eBook.)

Cutting with a Knife from Montessori at Home!

Disclosure: This post contains For Small Hands and Montessori at Home affiliate links at no cost to you.

Cutting with a Knife

Excerpt from Montessori at Home!

As a Montessori teacher, I often saw fear in parent’s eyes when we showed them the celery cutting material, which included a sharp paring knife. More than one parent reconsidered sending their child to Montessori school! Not to worry, cutting is like other skills. A child’s skill level builds slowly, with plenty of practice, until the child is ready for each new step.

Like scissors, cutting with a knife is a complex skill. The fingers of one hand stabilize the object and have to move out of the way as the other hand cuts. The knife has to be held perpendicular or it may slide off and cut you. The right amount of pressure and sawing motion must be exerted on the blade to make it cut properly. There is a lot going on and it takes practice. All of the activities we have covered so far build the necessary fine motor control for complex skills like cutting.

Learning to Cut a Banana (Photo from Chasing Cheerios)Cutting a Banana (Photo from Montessori Album)With a banana and a dull dinner knife, a toddler can practice. For a 2-3 year old, try using a self-contained activity, as at right.
L Photo: Chasing Cheerios
R photo: Montessori Album
Videos: Cutting & serving a banana   Peeling carrots

Cutting ActivitiesTry banana cutting with a plastic knife first, as at left. Next, your child can cut cheese, which is a bit firmer, with a dull dinner knife. A pickle, at right, is wet and has at least one curved surface, increasing the challenge. You will have to decide when your child is ready to use a sharper knife to cut vegetables like celery. Provide plenty of practice at each step.

Carrot Peeling (Photo from Counting Coconuts)
Egg Slicing Activity (Photo from Counting Coconuts)
Learning to Cut with a Knife and Fork (Photo from Montessori MOMents)

[First photo], a carrot peeling material from Counting Coconuts. It has a small peeling tool and a hand wave slicer, adding new tools. [Second photo], another great Counting Coconuts activity – egg slicing. This uses a hinge type egg slicer. [Third photo]: learning to cut with a knife and fork at MontessoriMOMents. Mastering these skills builds a positive self-image and an “I can do it!” attitude that stays with children as they get older.

Buttering Bread (Photo from Counting Coconuts)Video: Egg slicing

Even buttering bread can be made into a Montessori activity. This material organizes and isolates the essential elements and the task in an aesthetic way that helps a child focus attention and internalize a sense of beauty and order.
Photo: Counting Coconuts

Excerpt used with permission of John Bowman.

John Bowman’s Montessori at Home eBook (available exclusively as part of the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle in the Living Montessori Now shop) is filled with amazing ideas for families.

The Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle Available Exclusively on Living Montessori Now!

Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle Available at Living Montessori Now

Update 2/1/19: Montessori Print Shop, always one of my very favorite Montessori suppliers, partnered with John Bowman in offering 21 gorgeous Montessori materials in a bundle together with the Montessori at Home! eBook! The eBook was originally available individually, too. Because the eBook was published in 2013, some of the links have changed over time. So not every link works. Because of that, the eBook is now only available as part of the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle. The book is still great, but it is best used as part of the bundle of materials that goes with it. And the price of the entire bundle has been reduced. It was originally $19.95. You can get the eBook plus over $60 worth of materials in this bundle now for only $14.95! 

You can get a free download of 51 sample pages from Montessori at Home eBook by clicking here! (This includes information on John’s simplified Montessori reading sequence.)

Here’s the direct link to the purchase page for the Montessori at Home! Materials Bundle,which includes the Montessori at Home eBook AND over $60 worth of Montessori Print Shop materials to go with the book (now only $14.95)!

Here’s the list of 21 printable Montessori materials included in the bundle:
  1. Phases of the Moon (3-part cards & chart)
  2. Animals of the Continents
  3. Continents 3-Part Cards
  4. Land & Water Form Photo Book
  5. World – Control Maps, Masters and Labels
  6. Moveable Alphabet – Print – (includes full instructions)
  7. Sentence Cards – Step 1 – Set 1
  8. Word and Picture Cards – Step 1 – Read Pictures
  9. 1-100 Math Series
  10. Geometric Matching Cards
  11. Geometric Solids 3-Part Cards – Blue
  12. Skeleton Nomenclature Cards
  13. Tree Nomenclature Cards
  14. Phonics Sound and Picture Sorting
  15. Association of Objects
  16. What Does Not Belong
  17. The Five Senses
  18. Plant or Animal?
  19. Animals and Their Names
  20. Color Grading Cards
  21. Metal Insets – Shape Outlines

Excerpts and Activities from the Montessori at Home eBook

you can read all the excerpts from the book that I’ve shared here at Living Montessori Now:

Activities with Marbles and Golf Tees from Montessori at Home!

Activities with Marbles and Golf Tees from Montessori at Home!

Building a Flashlight and Pipe Building from Montessori at Home

Building a Flashlight and Pipe Building from Montessori at Home!

1000-10,000 Activity from Montessori at Home!

1000-10,000 Activity from Montessori at Home!

Make Fossils from Montessori at Home!

Make Fossils from Montessori at Home! Cutting with a Knife from Montessori at Home Cutting with a Knife from Montessori at Home!

Free Play Tubs (Sensory Bins) from Montessori at Home!

Free Play Tubs (Sensory Bins) from Montessori at Home!

Create an Attractive Home Environment from Montessori at Home!

Create an Attractive Home Environment from Montessori at Home!

Concentration and Normalization from Montessori at Home

 Concentration and Normalization from Montessori at Home

How to Prepare a Montessori Jar for Meaningful Preschool Activities at Home

How to Prepare a Montessori Jar for Meaningful Preschool Activities at Home (an activity prepared using one of the book’s printables)

Allow Time for Repetition and Concentration from Montessori at Home!

Allow Time for Repetition and Concentration from Montessori at Home!

Activities Using Some of the Montessori Print Shop Materials from the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle

Here are activities I published using just 4 of the 21 Montessori Print Shop materials from the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle:

Montessori-Inspired Phases of the Moon Playdough Tray

Montessori-Inspired Phases of the Moon Playdough Tray

Easy-to-Prepare Montessori Animals of the Continents Activity

Easy-to-Prepare Montessori Animals of the Continents Activity

Extending Montessori Animals of the Continents Work

Extending Montessori Animals of the Continents Work

Hands-on Fun with Montessori-Inspired Human Skeleton Activities

Hands-on Fun with Montessori-Inspired Human Skeleton Activities

Seashell Color Matching {Easy-to-Prepare Variation of Montessori Color Box 3}

Seashell Color Matching {Easy-to-Prepare Variation of Montessori Color Box 3}

Again, John Bowman’s Montessori at Home eBook is available exclusively as part of the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle in the Living Montessori Now shop!

Deb - Siganture

Montessori at Home or School - How to Teach Grace and Courtesy eBookLearn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

The Montessori at Home! eBook and Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle are AMAZING resources! You can learn more about them here. Buy them in the Living Montessori Now shop.

If this is your first time visiting Living Montessori Now, welcome! If you haven’t already, please join us on our Living Montessori Now Facebook page where you’ll find a Free Printable of the Day and lots of inspiration and ideas for parenting and teaching! And please follow me on Pinterest (lots of Montessori-, holiday-, and theme-related boards) and Twitter (blog posts by me and others along with the Parent/Teacher Daily and other interesting information). You can find me on Google+ (post updates), bloglovin’, Instagram, and YouTube, too.






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Filed Under: Activities - Practical Life, Book Reviews, Montessori Monday Tagged With: cutting with a knife, food preparation, John Bowman, Montessori, Montessori at home, Montessori Monday, practical life

Previous Post: « Montessori-Inspired Continent Activities with Animal Figures and Landmarks – Europe
Next Post: Top 10s and Thank You’s for September 2013 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer Fischer says

    September 30, 2013 at 7:00 am

    I’ve been meaning to do some knife cutting practice with Wild Thing. This is a great reminder.

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:46 pm

      Thanks, Jen! Knife-cutting activities are definitely popular at Wild Thing’s age. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Maria says

    September 30, 2013 at 9:04 am

    This is something I have to practice with my daughter! Thanks for the reminder!!! BTW, we LOVE the Montessori at home book from John….it is full of ideas for our Afterschool learning time at home!
    Have a great week, Deb!

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:48 pm

      Thanks so much, Maria! The Montessori at Home book is awesome, isn’t it?! 🙂

      Reply
  3. John Bowman says

    September 30, 2013 at 9:50 am

    Lovely post as always Deb. Thank you so much for including Montessori At Home! in your almost 24/7 efforts to provide parents with ideas and inspiration. The Montessori Monday Linkup ideas alone are pure gold. You are the best!

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:49 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind comment, John! I always love featuring an excerpt from your amazing Montessori at Home book! I think you’re the best, too. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jackie Higgins says

    September 30, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    Great ideas. I’ve been trying to incorporate some of the principles from Montessori practical life into our home preschool this year. I haven’t tried much cutting with a knife. My boys always ask for knives at dinner, though, so maybe it’s time to introduce in a safe way! Thanks.

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:52 pm

      Thanks so much, Jackie! It’s great that you’re doing some Montessori practical life activities at home. Your boys will probably love trying some cutting activities. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Amy says

    October 1, 2013 at 11:04 am

    Thanks for all of the great knife/practical life ideas! Thanks for the motivation to keep up the knife cutting 🙂 I can’t wait to get an egg slicer 🙂

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:54 pm

      Thanks for your comment, Amy! Egg slicers are fun, aren’t they?! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jill says

    October 3, 2013 at 8:12 am

    Wonderful knife cutting skills ideas! Thank you for sharing and for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop 🙂

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:55 pm

      Thanks, Jill! I love your Thoughtful Spot Blog Hop … just have to get used to adding it to my schedule each week. 🙂

      Reply
  7. DaLynn McCoy says

    October 3, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    OH Great post! Pinning this one for future reference. And look at all those other great posts to go along with it! Fantastic idea overload – thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 10:57 pm

      Thanks, DaLynn! The Montessori at Home book definitely has an abundance of great ideas. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Pauline, Lessons Learnt Journal says

    October 9, 2013 at 5:27 am

    My kids are going to love practicing this skill :). Thanks for linking this up to the Kids Co-Op. I’ll be featuring your post in my fine motor activities roundup this week. xo P

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 11:21 pm

      Thanks so much, Pauline! I really appreciate your featuring my post. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Carrie says

    October 10, 2013 at 7:41 am

    Cutting is such an important lesson and how to use a knife safely is another important lesson. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

    Reply
    • Deb says

      October 17, 2013 at 11:22 pm

      Thanks, Carrie! I definitely agree about the importance of knife-cutting lessons. 🙂

      Reply
  10. rodman says

    February 27, 2017 at 9:12 am

    i love this site. this is a great article. simple, direct and good information. the whole cutting with a knife thing was a bit of a worry for me.
    the idea of starting with something very soft… bananas, is very helpful.

    Reply

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