Friday, July 9, 2010

Snack Time!

Here are a few Practical Life food preparation activities I recently put together for James. He loved each one! Again, anything involving food or eating usually receives two thumbs up from my little cutie. :) He must take after his mama!!

Table Setting
This activity was made successful thanks to the adorable placemat you see below...
This was handmade by Eva of Handmade Beginnings. I LOVE it! So bright, colorful and extremely well made. Visit Eva's Etsy store to buy one of your own!

Apple Slicing
I wasn't sure how well James would be able to work the slicer, but he put those little muscles to work and was determined to do it himself. And he did!
Buttering Bread

This activity works well with other condiments, too - jam, cream cheese, peanut butter. I made sure the pat of butter was soft enough for James to spread easily across the bread.

He took great care in making sure he covered every square inch of the bread :) and when he finished he ran to get another slice of bread for me too.

Linking up to Montessori Monday and The Preschool Corner - click the links to see what others are doing with their children.

32 comments:

Mada said...

You always give good ideas to help children to do things by theirselves, that is the goal. Thank you very much for offering your help.

tracey (aka rainbowmummy) said...

I love these activities! Another fun food activity is preparing omelettes in a bag in stead of a bowl, a fun squashy sensory experience :) Oh and jelly of course, whilst it's risky with the hot water it is such a wonderful lesson in patience (checking on it to see when it's finally set). And if you can find sugar and aspartame free jelly all the better (in my opinion)! And the place mat is incredible!!

Michelle said...

What fun! My two love to help me bake. They love measuring all the ingredients and then getting to 'dump' them. That placemat is too cute. I don't have an apple slicer but how fun to be able to get your own apple ready and my oldest is probably totally ready to start spreading his own toppings on his bread. Great idea!

Jen said...

All of your trays are so beautifully coordinated and inviting! I especially love your plates.

The smile on James's face is precious.

Heather Mac said...

Love it! Great job mom!

Deborah Stewart said...

Beautiful settings and great snack time choices! I love your photos too:)

Sippy Cup Central said...

Very nice idea, it looks wonderful!
Karen

Eva said...

Aww cute, great ideas! Kids get so much enjoyment out of being able to do things by themselves eh! :D I'm going to try these out with my little one! Thanks so much for linking to me too!

<3
Eva

Anonymous said...

oo love these activities! That placemat is super cool!

Confessions Of A Homeschooler said...

Love those ideas! I'm going to have to see if my mom can whip up a placemat for me ;o)

Insightful Brain said...

These are wonderful. I am going to definitely have to set out a "setting the table" and "buttering bread" for my children.

Rebecca said...

These are GREAT! I will do these in the near future :)

The Attached Mama said...

You are a wonderful mama! You have given me a lot of inspiration with this blog post!

Thanks,
Cathy @ The Attached Mama

Debbie said...

Love your place mats! Selena loves to do all these things as well, except she doesn't have a fancy apple slicer. Great week!

(V.Kerr) School Time Adventures said...

We use that apple slicer all the time. I really love that placemat..I think I should make that my next crafty project!

Carrie said...

I was wondering where do you get the white trays, the ones with the circles on top and the rectangles underneath.

Rusheika said...

what a great place mat! Thanks for sharing your ideas!!

2 Pequeños Traviesos said...

Hi dear friend! Lovely activities, as always. James has gotten so big. He's such a cutie. I was looking at yours followers: You almost have 400! That's amazing! You're a wonderful blogger. Congrats. {Here's a little secret, we have the same blog template, hehehe. Great minds think alike!}

Elise said...

Oh that place mat is adorable.

I love how you set everything up for James. You make it so special and you can see the love that you put into everything you do for him. Beautiful.

Unknown said...

Love that placemat! All your trays are set up so attractively.

Unknown said...

I love the placemat and I would love to see my lil' monkey try to use an apple slicer to slice an apple. Gonna give it a try.

Debbie said...

You are so creative and artistic in the way you do your trays! Love these activities and the place mat too.

The Sunshine Crew said...

Awesome works for snack time. Love the placemats. So cool and fun for summer:)
Thanks for sharing. hope that you will pop by my blog. I am doing a swap for light table items.

The girl who painted trees said...

It's all so beautiful.

Zonnah said...

You can tell he is enjoying it!

XYZZ said...

Thanks for linking up to Montessori Monday, and thanks for the reminder to spend some more time on simple practical life stuff. Love those placemats, and I love how proud James looks in the photo with his apple slices!

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

Everything looks so picture-perfect - I can see why James love these food preparation activities. Anna enjoys cooking and setting the table, but eating what she cooked... not so much :)

Joyful Learner said...

Love the placemat! I love all the organization of your activities! Thanks for linking up!

Shonda said...

I featured you on my Monday Shareday at Milk N' Honey: http://milknhoneylearnandgrow.blogspot.com/2010/07/monday-shareday-please-link-up-thanks.html. Thanks!

Shelby said...

It’s such a great idea to take baby steps to get your son involved in the kitchen! Pretty soon he’ll be able to make simple meals all by himself! Preparing meals together with your child is so important, since research shows kids who cook together are more likely to consider portions and learn important skills, such as following instructions, teamwork, math, and even fine motor skills. And kids who eat meals together with their family are less likely to be obsess and do better in school. That’s why I work with The Kids Cook Monday, a new program started by the Healthy Monday campaigns that encourages families to cook and eat meals together each week. To find out more, check out our website at http://www.healthymonday.org/the-kids-cook-monday/

We’re looking for families to get involved by cooking meals together each week and sharing their experiences on their blogs. If you’re interested in participating, please email me at TheKidsCookMonday@gmail.com. Thanks!

Mayo

Deb Chitwood said...

I love your table setting activity - and your apple slicing activity and your buttering bread activity! I featured your lovely table setting photos and activity at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/09/12/montessori-monday-table-setting/

Deb Chitwood said...

I hope you're having a fabulous September with your beautiful family, Mari-Ann! I featured the photo of your apple-slicing activity at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/09/22/montessori-inspired-apple-unit/

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