This is our new Montessori Kitchen!

I'm always in awe of all of those cute practical life kitchen sets that are in Montessori classrooms.

They're the perfect height for kiddos.  

The sink is equipped with running water.  

Practical Life activities in the kitchen are some of my very favorites.

We don't have the funds or the room to put in our own Montessori kitchen.  

Last year we used dish basins, on trays, but they were too heavy for the kiddos to move around and made a mess in our carpeted classroom.  

As I was watching a fabulous Montessori video last week, I was inspired!

Montessori Practical Life in the Kitchen

Actually it's my kitchen, but with several accommodations made for our kiddos.  

This project cost $0.  

It is working so well!  

I'm loving it!  

Please forgive the mismatched paint and flooring in our kitchen. 

This is the one room in our home that we haven't completely redone.  

(The house was built in the 1800s.)

These are our Kitchen Montessori Shelves!  

All I did was remove the doors on our lower cabinets and viola!  

Full access for the kiddos.  

All of the plates, bowls, cups, and utensils, are stored there.  

The kiddos' lunch boxes, basin, and mixing bowl are also kept in this location for easy access.  

Located on our exterior shelves are measuring cups and spoons, a basket of kid sized kitchen tools & cutting board, and a child size hand sweep with tray for use after meals.  

In the drawer above the lunch boxes, folded napkins are stored.

About three years ago, I said goodbye to all of our extra plates, bowls, and cups.  

Each person in the house has a color coded matching set.  

This has cut down tremendously on dish washing tasks.  (We don't have a dishwasher.)

Before each meal, I select a kiddo to come help me in the kitchen.  

A place setting template/control is provided if they need it, when setting the table.  

Food is placed on the counter above their shelves, with necessary tools used for serving. 

The kiddo who sets the table serves the food.  

This has provided great practice scooping, using tongs, spooning, and transferring food.  

Drinks are poured into cups as well.  

At times there are other tasks the kiddos can help with such as chopping fruits and vegetables for salads, etc.

Once meals are finished, the kiddos move on to their next task of cleaning up.  

One sink is filled with soap and water, the other just water for rinsing.  

A dish drainer is provided, as well as a dish towel for drying. 

Missing from the photo is a garbage can for cleaning off dishes before putting them in the soapy water.

The kiddos wash, rinse, and dry their own dish, bowl, cup, and utensils.  

 complete, they put them away.  

This process has run more smoothly than I could have ever anticipated.  

All of the kiddos are doing such a great job!  

They seem to enjoy it too.  

I love that they're each responsible for their own things.  

If they don't do their individual job, it only effects them, and no one else.  

They quickly learn they like to eat from clean dishes.

Once dishes are taken care of, the kiddos use their washcloth to wipe down their chair and spot at the table.  

They finish their kitchen tasks by sweeping up any crumbs and fallen food under their chair.  

All of them do this so well after only a year of Montessori in the classroom!

The last change I made to my kitchen was rearranging the contents of my refrigerator so the kiddos had full and easy access to the things they needed for snacks and meal prep.  

They love getting their own snacks and things we need for meals.  

Any other snack foods are located in the fruit bowl on one of the counters in the kitchen.  

I try to stay away from crackers, fruit snacks etc.

I never realized how easy it would be to change my kitchen into a place where the kiddos were helping and not making things more difficult during meal prep and clean up.  

All of us are enjoying the new arrangement! 

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