Food work is very loved area of practical life in the Montessori environment. These activities are practical, rewarding, and allow the child to care for themselves and for their environment. We begin simple and isolate specific skills, for example, chopping a strawberry, spreading sun butter, or juicing a lemon. With appropriate tools and introduction to the materials, children can also engage in more complex food work activities. Recently, children in CH1 have been baking bread! Food work is also a great way to include children in caring for their home. It can be helpful to find times we aren’t in a rush to include children in the work so that they have the time and space to engage with the activity. They could prepare an ingredient in advance, like chopping celery for a soup. It is also helpful to consider the tools we offer, making sure they are functional and appropriately sized. Also, it is important to demonstrate how to the tool is used and give children space to engage. Lastly, children love scrubbing dishes! Every day, children spontaneously choose to scrub the many dirty dishes in our classroom. Cleaning the dishes is great way to extend the activity in a purposeful way and include children in caring for their home.