Independence: The Significance of Food
Throughout history, human survival has depended upon finding, preparing and consuming different kinds of food. It is certainly understandable why food is a central part of our lives.
In Montessori, we recognize that food plays a bigger role in our young humans’ development. While nutrition is key, food also represents so much more! Therefore, we offer children the opportunity to use food as a way to develop a richer understanding of the world, master abilities to function independently, and develop a rich language for communication.
Understanding the World
As children develop a relationship with food, it’s important that they get to experience food in its natural state rather than only prepackaged. During the sensitive period for refining their senses, young children need to explore their food sensorially so they can experience the taste, texture, smell, appearance (both uncooked and cooked), and any sounds food might make.
In Montessori environments, we offer children opportunities to prepare fresh foods during our Children’s House Spring Tea and our Lower Elementary Valentine’s Day Family Breakfast. In prior years, Upper Elementary has baked bread for our all-school Thanksgiving Stone Soup celebration. Rather than opening a can or package, we start with natural raw ingredients and guide the children in meal preparation.
Whenever possible, we also try to give children meaningful connections to nature and its bounty, including when foods are in season. It’s a bonus when we have fruits, vegetables, and herbs growing in planters or in our outdoor environment! Our goal is for children to develop a connection to food and its growth cycle throughout the year. In the process, children also learn about the parts of plants we eat: leaves, stems, roots, seeds and flowers.
Mastering Abilities & Movement
When children are preparing food, we start with basic skills such as cutting, dicing, peeling, grating and juicing. As children gain more dexterity and skill, such as holding and using a knife, we move toward teaching more complex skills, such as how to prepare the ingredients when following a recipe, or how to operate kitchen appliances such as toasters, openers and mixers.
Whether using simple or complex equipment, children need items that they can learn to manage on their own. As such, we provide kitchen items that are sized appropriately. Through plenty of repetition with food preparation and the varied kinds of tools involved, children begin to coordinate their movements and refine their skills.
Developing Language
While children are working with food preparation activities, we take care to use precise terminology to name the ingredients, materials and actions involved. By doing so, we help increase and expand a child’s vocabulary.
Table setting also offers a wonderful opportunity for language development. For the youngest children, we can say, “We need four plates.” Then together the adults and children can count to four. Table setting can also be an indirect lesson about prepositions. In a very natural way, we can ask children to put the spoon next to the plate, or to the right of the plate, or a napkin on top of the plate. The word “preposition” is never spoken but the experience gives children exposure to the concept of the function of a preposition in a sentence.
As children get older, we introduce more complex language and also offer opportunities for them to interpret recipes, write their own instructional steps, and even tap into the expressive creativity involved with food preparation and presentation.
Cultural Importance
Where we live in the world dictates how and what we eat. Different cultures have disparate expectations about cooking or consuming. Yet in all cultural groups, people have explored and experimented with food. This makes sense, of course. People have needed to know what they can eat, if food needs to be cooked to be edible, how foods can be combined, and how our bodies might react to particular foods or food combinations.
Food also plays a key role in rituals and customs, from people coming together socially to religious ceremonies to relying on food for medical purposes. All cultures have some kind of beliefs about both the significance of food and different foods’ ability to make our bodies feel better or worse.
With all of the cultural richness woven into food, bringing in family traditions, customs, favorite recipes, and rituals around food can enhance the classroom community’s experience and provide a culturally responsive school-family partnership.
Food preparation is an essential part of our learning communities and a significant part of our children’s development. Please schedule a time to visit the school, see this work for yourself, and perhaps even share a bit about your own culinary traditions!