Eating is the consummate sensorial experience. It involves all our senses: seeing, tasting, smelling, feeling, even hearing. At the Montessori Children's Center at Burke we work at a variety of levels to make eating a beautiful, satisfying, and nurturing sensorial experience for the children and adults alike.

In each classroom the small scale furniture -- tables for eating and chairs for sitting -- are specially designed for each age level. We use real silverware (pretty child-size silver plate without logos or cartoon characters) glass pitchers for pouring, glass cups for drinking, and white china plates and bowls. We place flowers on the table. The toddlers use place mats; the 3-6 year olds use tablecloths. As the children grow and learn, we give them more and more opportunities to participate in the food preparation, set-up, and clean-up.

In everyday living, as throughout our classrooms, our goal is to help the child develop independence and gain the tools she needs to take care of herself.

Infant Room

In the Infant room, the babies are at two different stages (and some are moving between the two). Some babies are fed by adults and others feed themselves. The babies who are fed by adults are fed according to the baby's own individual schedule. We do not dictate the child's feeding schedule;rather we follow the child. When giving the baby a bottle, the adult holds him in her arm: she does not prop him up, plug in the bottle, and walk away to complete another task. In these early months, we believe feeding should be a time of interaction and connection for the adult and child. The adult uses that time to look at the child and make a connection with her eyes. She is present with the child and focuses all her attention on him. Focusing on the baby while he is eating enables the child to focus himself on the task of eating without distraction.

While we do follow the cues of the child to meet her needs for hunger, the teachers also have a sense of each child's own schedule, so they are prepared to meet that need when the child becomes hungry. When a child is ready for his bottle, it is already prepared for him. Rather than wait for the child's need to escalate, the teachers begin to respond to the clues early on. The bottle is almost ready; the baby doesn't have to wait. In this way, he learns the direct connection between his need and getting his need met. He senses, ”This feeling is hunger....I am hungry....This is my food...I am getting satisfied.” He does not have to experience frustration in order to be fed. Therefore, he can develop trust in the world and in his caregivers; he can get to better know himself, and recognize his own needs.

Air Chair

In the Infant room, the baby who is being introduced to solids and has not yet achieved sitting is fed in the air chair. The air chair is placed on the floor , rather than on a table, as we believe it is more important to keep the child grounded and for the adult to adjust her level. Therefore, the adult sits at a low stool at the child's height, rather than raising the child up to our level for our own convenience. The teacher is focused on the child. She brings the spoon to the child's lip, waits for the child to indicate interest by opening his mouth or sticking out his tongue, places the spoon at tip of tongue, and waits for child to take the food from the spoon. Some children are fast eaters, some children are slow eaters. Each feeding is calibrated to the child's own pace and needs. From the earliest food experiences, our aim is to empower the child to participate in her own eating.

The infants are weaned directly from a bottle to a cup -- we skip the sippy cup altogether. We use a small shot-glass size cup from the time the child can sit in the air chair (even as young as four months). This is to help the child learn to drink from a cup -- because that is the skill we want the child to eventually have. We do not replace the bottle with a small cup, rather we introduced the cup for other liquids, and the child continues to receive nourishment from the bottle and later from the solid foods. As the child develops competency with the cup, we increase the size of the cup. The teacher does not the fill the cup to the top, rather she controls the amount of liquid to better enable the child to be successful. Although the children do have spilling “accidents,” we see this as an important part of the process of learning. The child then learns from the spill the skill of controlling the flow of the liquid in the cup. She is then able to practice the skill of manipulating the cup for drinking, even at an early age.

Giving only Necessary Help

The babies who feed themselves sit at low tables and chairs. The child's feet touches the floor. The adult sits with the children at their low table, on a low stool. The adult is not eating at this time, she is observing and assisting when necessary. From the time she is able to grasp a utensil, the child is given a fork and spoon to use. Of course, when children eat on their own, they do tend to get messy. The teachers don't make an issue of the mess during meal time. After the babies finish with their meal, the focus then shifts to clean up. At the low sink, the child washes his hands, sees his face in the low mirror, and helps to wash his own face.

By using a low table and chair, and focusing solely on the child's eating (rather than on socializing), we give the child the opportunity to concentrate on the task of eating. The child of this age is learning to eat, learning to taste, learning to enjoy her food. Socializing can and does happen at other times. The main focus is to have the child eat in her own time frame, at her own pace, and to have this time be about eating.

Toddler Room and 3-6

When the children come in the morning, a breakfast buffet is set up, so they can serve themselves if they are hungry or thirsty. The children pour their milk or juice from a small pitcher into a glass. They serve themselves cereal with a scoop, pour their milk from a small pitcher into the bowl, and spread their own cream cheese on their bagel, using a spreader. Each child takes as much or as little as he needs.

Lunch time

Lunch time is very special for the children. We recently changed our menu to include an increased variety of seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans, wheat breads, and an assortment of fish, turkey, chicken and pasta, as well as organic milk for drinking. They children are enjoying tasting the new foods.

Everyone washes and dries their hands before they sit down at the table. The children each have their own place. One teacher sits at each table with five or six children. The food and beverages are laid out on the serving table beside each teacher. One child from each table brings the basket of whole wheat and the butter to the table, and then it is passed to each child. The children butter their own bread. The teacher passes out the serving bowls of food. The children spoon the food out themselves. If the child needs help, the teacher will assist the child in lifting the spoon out, giving only as much help as needed, so the child can participate as much as possible. For the toddlers, the teacher pours the milk from a large pitcher into a smaller pitcher, with just enough milk to fill the small glass, so when the child pours she can be successful.

The food arrives pre-cut in small enough pieces so it manageable and not overwhelming. Because the child serves himself, he chooses how much he wants. We never talk about a “clean plate” club, nor insist that the children finish all their food. The children can have as much as they want, and take as much time as they need to eat. One child may be his eating desert, while another is still eating her main meal, while another is laying down on the cot for nap.

Clean-up

The children clean up after themselves. They take their plate, walk over to the garbage, scrape the plate with one of their utensils. The clean-up station includes three separate wash bins, one each for glasses, dishes, and silverware. The children place their items into the correct bin. When they are finished, they go to the bathroom, change diapers and/or sit on the toilet, and wash their hands.

Eating is a peaceful, calm experience for the children, without outside interruptions or distractions. At home, you can create a similar atmosphere -- turn off the TV, radio, and ringer on the phone. Let your child's experience of the new tastes and textures of foods rekindle your sense of wonder and delight at the delicious bounty of our earth and the myriad of tastes from the different cultures of our world.

Food Preparation Activities

The 3-6 children are more involved with food preparation. They help carry the food to the table. They do group activity food preparations, including baking on Fridays. The children have made many tasty treats, including bread, apple sauce, soup, pies, muffins, and pizza.

During the day, in both the toddler room and the 3-6 room, the teachers set up individual food preparation activities, such as slicing cucumbers, using a spreader, apple coring, spreading cheese into celery, cracking nuts, peeling an egg and slicing it with an egg slicer. In the 3-6 Room, the child prepares the snack and passes it out to his classmates. Then the child cleans up and prepares the space for the next person, which includes washing and drying everything and setting it back up for the next child.

Please and Thank-You

Toddlers are mastering the skills of eating. We believe that the best way to teach a toddler to say thank you and please is for the adult to model and say it herself, rather than telling or coaching the child to say it. We believe if you model grace and courtesy, the child will learn it, and eventually grace and courtesy will be natural for the child too.

One of the differences between the toddler and the 3-6 room is the amount of conversation at the table. As in the toddler room, lunch is an intimate time. The 3-6 year olds eat family style, sharing their time together and their experiences of the day. Children talk amongst themselves and with the teacher. At this age, the teachers work to help the children with grace and courtesy through modeling and rephrasing. For example, Molly says, “I want the milk!” So the teacher, Jennifer says, “Would you please pass the milk to Freddie?”

How to Families Can Do it at Home

At home, you can provide opportunities for your child to be involved in food preparation and his own eating. Designate a low a shelf on the refrigerator for your child, with a small pitcher of milk or juice so she can help herself. Fill containers with the healthy snacks for the child to eat -- raisins or other dried fruits, cut-up carrots, cucumber spears, melon balls, cheese cubes. Designate a low shelf or drawer for your child's own plates, cups, and bowls. Put silverware in separate containers, so your child easily can select the fork, spoon, or knife she needs. Have your child load his dishes and utensils to the dishwasher, and put them away when they are clean. A low table and small chair in the kitchen or dining room for your child, with a low stool for yourself, gives your child a place to eat the snack he prepares for himself. This set-up gives your child a quiet place to calmly eat her supper --without distractions -- and allows her to fully concentrate on her eating, before you sit down together as a family to share your day.

You can get your child involved in preparing dinner. On the weekend, your child can help make the snacks for the week ahead. The more your child is involved in preparing the food, the more likely she is to eat it. Even toddlers can grate cheese, peel hard boiled eggs, crack raw eggs, beat eggs; they can cut bananas, celery, cucumbers, and carrots; they can spread butter, cream cheese or jelly; they can scoop melon balls. Under supervision, children can turn on or off the mixer, blender, or cuisinart. The can beat and mix; they can sprinkle cheese, salt, herbs, and spices; they can grind pepper; they can rip lettuce for salad. And best of all, children can wash or scrub just about any thing. You can provide a small wash basin for the low table, with a vegetable brush, and let your child help you!

Children can help with Clean-Up

As they do at school, children can help with cleaning up: washing, scraping, stacking the dishwasher, wiping down the table, sweeping the floor, etc. And when it is all over, you have all contributed to the family, to each other. Your child wants to be a help to you; he wants to contribute. Your child doesn't need you to do it all for him; he really needs to do more himself. The more we safely enable them, the better able they are. As we give our children a greater role in contributing to the family, the more they feel they are a part of it.

Goals

Our goal in this approach is to nurture independence, foster a healthy attitude toward food and eating, provide positive experiences of tasting and trying new foods, and as much as possible, opportunities to participate in their own eating.

We aim to create environments where the child can be successful. This means not doing things at the adult level, but rather breaking things down into a simpler form so that the child can be successful. When a child at a young age pours, she can be successful if we give her just enough liquid (since she can pour but cannot judge when to stop). If the child can serve himself, but needs a little help, we can guide his hand, rather than just do it for him. If we expect our children to do things with the same speed and dexterity as adults, the child will not succeed and the adult will become frustrated. But if we simplify the task and give them the time, the child can do a lot more.

Benefits

The benefits of the approach can be seen every day at our center. The children are doing more independently, and feeling more confident about recognizing and meeting their own needs. Their ability to act independently in their own eating is building their self-esteem. They are respectful of each other and the precious items in their environment. They stop to enjoy the scent of the flower, the smell of the warm soup, the crunch of a carrot. They offer the products of their labor to their friends and classmates. The more we involve them, the more they do. They are learning how to eat; and they are learning how to live.