Practical Life Activities at 21 Months

As I explained in this post, I feel that Q-ball now possesses the maturity, mental capacity, and most importantly, interest to start more formal Montessori activities.  She has always been very interested in what is going on in the kitchen, so I wanted to start with some basic kitchen practical life exercises.

Here's what we've been up to!

Chopping- While the idea of chopping with a 21-month-old may seem frightening to some, with this knife, we've had no issues.  Q-ball feels very involved in making dinner!  We've had the most luck with celery- they don't roll, make a nice "snap" upon cutting, and do not require too much pressure.

Pouring- Using a small Pyrex measuring pitcher, Q-ball has been pouring water into bowls.

"Spicing" and stirring-  Q-ball loves adding extra flavor to the water that she stirs while Mama is cooking.  Because spices can be a bit pricy, we've taken the less healthy route and gone through an entire box of table salt.

Water transfer with sponges- Q-ball has really been focused on "squeezing" recently, so transferring water from one bowl to another using a sponge has been a perfect activity to practice this skill.