Montessori Monday: Independent Food Prep

A few weeks ago, J and I were so tired, Theo was still sleeping and Coco got up and made herself a toaster waffle and fed herself breakfast - all while we slept! All went well, except that she used about half a bottle of maple syrup. So, a few days later, when she was asking for toast at the breakfast table, I started to get up to go make it and then realized, wait a minute! She can do this herself.

We put a little IKEA stool in front of the toaster. Coco knows there can't be anything on top of the toaster or touching the toaster. She gets the bread from the refrigerator and a paper towel to pinch it with when it pops up. And there's that Trader Joe's boxed wine. Don't knock it till you try it!

I fill a small bowl with butter and give her a plate and knife as well. When it comes to children's flatware, finding well-weighted pieces that are heavy enough, yet balance on a child's hand, is tricky. Coco received this WMF set from some friends in Zurich for her second birthday and it's amazing. Another set we like is this one.

Coco used her knife to spread the butter on her toast all by herself. She also took a few breaks to just eat the butter off of the knife!

When she was all finished, she was so proud. Not only did she do most of it herself, aside from my getting the butter, but it kept her really busy and quiet so J and I could actually have a conversation over the breakfast table. Win, win!

How do you help your children achieve independence in food prep? Or do you? I constantly have to remind myself that she's capable of so much more than we realize!