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Montessori Kitchen

If you've been around for a little while, you will know that the Montessori Method is all about practical life. One of the best ways to encourage your child in practical life activities is by making everything they need accessible.

The first place I changed (or Montessorified, as I like to call it!) was the entrance, followed by their closet. The kitchen was my next project but other than moving the cutlery to a lower drawer, I really wasn't sure how I wanted it set up. I was thinking of having the dishes on a shelf but with a 1 year old running around, I knew this was not a good idea.

Then it finally dawned on me: the pantry!

The boys can easily reach the first 3 shelves and the baby girl can't open it. While it may be unconventional to have plates on the bottom shelf of a pantry, it works perfectly fine for us. The boys can now set the table without needing my help to hand them the plates.

Another thing that is quite popular is the helping tower. In our house, we use a chair but you might feel more comfortable with a tower and if you're going to spend the money, consider a dual purpose one!

So how can you Montessorify your kitchen in 3 easy steps?

-Identify your pain points.

What tasks would you like your child to complete on their own but they can't because of their environment? Things like: set the table, get a drink of water, prepare their own snacks, bake or cook, get a cloth or broom to clean up a spill, etc.

-Consider your options.

Which are the areas of your kitchen that your child can reach? What are in those cupboards/drawers/spaces right now? Do you have room for a small shelf? How about in the dining room instead of the kitchen?

-Make the change.

Pick a day and a time and just do it. I love to include my kids when I Montessorify. It gives them a sense of responsibility and ownership. You should have seen my boys telling our company that evening about where our plates and snacks are now!

It's definitely a process and what works today might not work in a few months. I know that I will have to make some updates for my little girl once she gets older! As always, follow your child and prepare their environment accordingly.

Some of our favorite kitchen tools:

I'm not big into getting minis of everything in the kitchen. I did get a few things from the dollar store but the most important for me was to get safe knives. Here are the knives I have purchased (and love) so far:

Wooden Knife: This knife is great for even the littlest chefs, my 20 month old loves cutting up bananas and other soft food.

Zulay Kids Knife Set: my 6 year old is very cautious and doesn't want to use regular knives but he gladly uses these ones!

Marble Cheese Slicer: we eat a lot of cheese.

UPDATE 2024

After a few more years and a few more children, another pain point was baking and cooking with young children plus a baby on my hip. I wanted to do it but it felt like I ended up just doing most of it on my own since they couldn’t read the recipes and needed guidance on every single step. My patience levels just did not match what they needed.

So that’s when The Independent Kid eCookbook was born! I created visual recipes that are easy to understand and follow even by children who can’t read. My 5 year old made peanut butter cookies almost completely on his own! (Grab your free copy here! And email subscribers get 50% off coupons for every new recipe that comes out!)

The other big change that I made was to purchase container for my spices and baking supplies to make everything easy to find. Every container is clearly labeled so that the know without a doubt what it is they grabbed.

Now that my older children are 11, 9, and almost 7, I am truly reaping what I sowed. They can now navigate fairly easily in the kitchen and complete many recipes on their own. Let this be an encouragement to you (and me! for my 5, 3, and 1 year olds!) if you are still deep in trenches of very young children.