A Montessori education strives to help children master the skills necessary to meet fundamental needs. Parents can support this objective at home with simple activities like helping children pack their lunch for school each day.

Lunchtime Learning: A Montessori-Style Lunch

You can support your children’s education by encouraging them to implement some of their newly-learned skills at home. One fun way to do this is by helping your preschoolers prepare a Montessori-style lunch each day for school. A Montessori-style lunch provides opportunities for your children to apply some of the practical life skills learned at school in the home environment. For example, they can practice opening and closing containers and using a spoon to transfer food. They can also name the shapes of the containers and identify the different ingredients being used to make their lunch. What an exciting way to watch your children accomplish a practical life task and experience the satisfaction they portray upon successful completion!

When selecting foods for your children’s lunch, be sure to keep their delicate taste buds and appropriate portion sizes in mind. For example, instead of packing a whole sandwich that an adult would likely prefer, pack elements of the sandwich in separate, small containers. You can put cheese slices in one and turkey slices in another. A separate container might be used for crackers and another one for fruit slices. Small, individual portions encourage your preschoolers to combine their foods as they see fit…creating new, interesting combinations that they will certainly be excited to eat. You can even make their lunch visually appealing by helping them make carrot roses or prepare small-sized sandwiches in fun shapes. Children also love to dip their veggies in soft dips such as yogurt and peanut butter. The beauty of this experience is that it’s nutritious, educational, and fun!<\p>