Montessori Cooking Benefits & Why should you incorporate cooking in your kid's routine.

Baking with kids, especially around the holidays, is fun and educational. Food is a wonderful way to show love and begin a holiday tradition that your little one will cherish for years to come. Here are some of the reasons why time in the kitchen is a great way to incorporate Montessori into your home.

Montessori cooking benefits

Reading the recipe together improves vocabulary and fosters an appreciation for literacy.

Discussing measurements and gathering the correct amounts for each ingredient supports your child’s budding counting skills and gives your little one a concrete experience with fractions.

Your child experiences chemistry first hand as they mix ingredients together to form different colours and consistencies.

Setting a timer when goodies go into the oven helps your child conceptualize time. Analogue cooking timers are best as they allow your child to clearly see how much time remains.

Cooking together refines motor skills, increases a sense of independence, and develops self-confidence as your little one creates something to share with the family.

Waiting for your masterpiece to bake/cook gives your child practice with willpower and self-control. But it can be hard even for Mommy and Daddy to wait for something delicious! If your little one is getting antsy, fill the time with cleaning together or another activity like colouring.

Preparing food will give your little one practice with self-care as they create something yummy that they get to eat, wash their hands, clean up, and get comfortable in the kitchen.

Cooking is a great way to feel part of a community, which is what the holidays are all about!

Tip: If your child has trouble sitting for extended periods, have them stand during recipe prep. After transferring all of the ingredients into the bowl, walk to put the bowl on the dirty dish shelf before mixing the next bowl of ingredients. This will help your little one exert effort and come back ready to concentrate on the next task.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

The link for the recipe is here.

Banana Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes for oversized muffins, 1 hour for bread

Yields 12-15 Servings

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)

¼ cup ground flax seed

1 T baking powder

dash salt (optional)

¼ cup of sugar

¼ cup applesauce (1 snack-sized container)

¼ cup of water

1 Tbsp oil (your choice: olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable oil)

1 tsp vanilla

4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup chocolate chips or sliced almonds, dried fruit or nuts, blueberries, shredded coconut or a combination of desired options)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using oil, grease a 12-count muffin tin, 6-oversized muffin cups, or one loaf bread pan. Coat them well.

Place dry ingredients (flour, flax, baking powder, and salt) into separate, small, see-through containers next to a medium mixing bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients, stirring thoroughly.

Place wet ingredients (bananas, applesauce, water, oil, and vanilla) and sugar into separate, small, see-through containers next to a large mixing bowl.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar and wet ingredients (have your little one combine and whisk before finishing it off yourself with an electric mixer).

In small batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until combined well.

Stir in chocolate chips, dried nuts, etc.

Scoop into an oiled muffin tin or pour into the bread pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then remove from pan to cooling rack.

An easy to read/visualize recipe cards are available in my shop.