Our Montessori Home In Baltimore Part II: Where We Eat

Thursday, October 18th, 2012 9:22 am | By Stephanie Woo

To continue the tour of our new Montessori home, here is where we eat.

1. This is the same weaning table we’ve had since they were 6 months old – we’ve gotten more use out of the $150 table than anything else we’ve ever bought for the kids. However, I replaced the heavy armchairs with light slatted chairs. These chairs were designed by Maria Montessori herself. They are made of birch wood, so they are lightweight enough for children to carry, but the design makes them extremely sturdy. I also find them to be beautiful to look at. Email me if you want the name of the carpenter in Denver who made these for me.

2. The cups and pitcher are permanent fixtures on this table. This is where the children get a drink of water during the day.

3. When not in use, we keep this dirty dish basket under the table. After meals, they clean up their own table and put their dishes in here.

4. These are their placemats. I’ve pre-drawn outlines of plate, bowl, fork and knife on a piece of paper, then laminated it. This great Montessori trick makes it so easy for little ones to set their own table. When they’re setting the table, you’ll see them point at the outline of the fork and say, “Fork,” then go to the cart to get a fork, and then point of the outline of the plate and say, “Plate,” then get one, etc. It’s like a great little cheat-sheet! I highly-recommend it. Takes about 5 minutes to make and costs very little. You can see how the children use it in the video below.

5. Here are their bowls, plates, fork and spoon. I keep the fork and spoon in separate containers.

6. These towels are used for their mouth, hands and for wiping up spills. The little hoops I’ve sewn onto the towel makes it really easy for them to hang on hooks. This tip I learned in my Montesorri training has saved me thousands of paper towels.

7. This little basket holds two sponges, which they use for wiping their mat. You can see them using it in this video here

8. This rolling cart is light, takes up very little floor space and can be moved around easily.

In order for you to get an idea of how we use this space, here is a video of the children making a smoothie, setting the table, then sitting down to eat their breakfast.

Before we start, here are the ingredients we use in the smoothie. Putting out each ingredient in individual containers makes it possible for children to make this smoothie on their own.

 Here we go!

If you’re interested in making fresh sunflower seed milk, here’s a great video. It’s super easy. And instead of using Brazil nut, like he does in the video, I use cashews or sunflower seeds: http://livingmaxwell.com/how-to-make-nut-milk

Reader Comments (8)

  1. What a great post. Now I want my child to start making her own smoothie. She is 14 mos and doesn't really care to drink anything though. Glad you are back blogging. I enjoy reading your page.

    Saturday, October 20th, 2012 10:10 pm | Debbie
  2. 您好,
    我的女兒現在一歲三個月,我們剛搬來Ithaca, NY.
    之前在台灣就對蒙特梭利很有興趣,也看了一些書,
    希望可以用這樣的理念教養小孩。
    想請問您,如果小孩用斷奶桌椅吃飯,是否就沒有和大人同桌吃飯了?
    這樣會不會沒有全家人一起吃飯的感覺?

    另外,最近十分困擾於女兒的行為,不知可否請教您的意見?
    就是如果女兒提出需求(抱抱、陪她玩….等等)我沒有立即回應時,
    她就會高分貝尖叫,因此家中常常上演我一邊洗碗,小孩在腳邊大叫的戲碼,
    令我非常困擾,不知該如何幫助她調整這行為
    想請教您的看法。

    謝謝您的回覆

    Saturday, December 8th, 2012 1:05 am | Ya-Shan
  3. Hi Ya Shan,

    謝謝你的來信。我先聲明我的中文不好!希望你能諒解!

    關於吃飯﹐我建議你買一個這種類型的high chair: Stokke Tripp Trapp chair. 你可以Google看看。 孩子早飯﹐中飯﹐或吃點心時﹐可以坐斷奶桌﹐晚上家人一起吃飯時﹐可用high chair跟大家一起吃飯。 斷奶桌讓他練習獨立﹐high chair 讓他學會家人一起吃飯的感覺。 兩個都很重要。
    關於孩子抱著你的腿在廚房地上哭﹐我太能理解你的痛苦了! 我孩子以前也這樣。 我建議你買這個試試看﹕Learning Tower or Kitchen Helper Safety Tower. 這樣孩子很安全﹐又能看到你在做什麼,你一邊煮飯﹐他可以在旁’幫忙﹐” 你順便可以給他一些蔬菜,水果, 厨房用具﹐讓他探索。 你可以參考這﹕https://montessorionthedouble.com/2012/02/23/this-is-how-we-make-a-smoothie-together/ 和 https://montessorionthedouble.com/2012/05/30/playing-with-water-to-their-hearts-content/
    孩子最愛玩水﹐你可以把他放在Learning Tower 裡﹐放在水槽旁﹐給他一些大湯匙﹐小鍋子﹐任何可以裝水的東西﹐讓他玩水玩個夠!

    Monday, December 10th, 2012 2:53 pm | Stephanie Woo
  4. This is incredible!! Thank you for so many wonderful suggestions!! I can’t wait to try some of this! -Amy

    Saturday, June 29th, 2013 2:29 pm | Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings
  5. What a great article!

    Did you replace the chairs at your weaning table after your children were able to sit better on their own? Or do you think a very young child (6 months) could manage without armrests from the start?

    Wednesday, December 17th, 2014 11:31 am | Kaitlin Luksa
    • Kaitlin, Yes, I started with chairs with armrests when they were six months old. Then at about 14-15 months, I replaced them with light, slatted chairs without armrest. A 6-month-old would not be able to sit in a chair without an armrest. But for a 14 month old, the heavy chair becomes a hindrance. That’s how fast they change and how we must adapt the environment to their needs at each age!

      Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 11:44 am | Stephanie Woo
  6. This is so cute and amazing!

    Monday, May 30th, 2016 2:57 pm | Maggie
  7. Can you share the details of the carpenter in Denver who made the chairs please?

    Saturday, October 13th, 2018 12:02 am | Mini

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *