Review: The Montessori Kitchen

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: The kitchen is the ideal Montessori learning environment at home, and now award-winning cookbook author Kristen Miglore and bestselling Montessori author Junnifa Uzodike team up to create a hands-on guide for parents and children to play and learn together through cooking.

The kitchen is the perfect playground for children to tackle new skills and experience everything―the play, the science, the math, the magic―that preparing food has to offer. New groceries coming in and out. Colorful vegetables being washed and prepped and cooked. Different ingredients being scooped and measured and transformed, with so many points along the way to see, smell, touch, taste, and listen. And endless opportunity for conversation with their grown-ups.

The newest book in the bestselling Montessori series offers parents a new way to think about time spent in the kitchen with their young children, with over 60 delicious, nutritious, interactive recipes. The fun starts before baby is born, with nourishing foods for the pregnant and postpartum parent. The book takes parents through those early months in the kitchen wearing―and talking to―baby while prepping dinner, to creating baby and toddler friendly areas in the kitchen, to developing those first kitchen skills, eating together, and fostering their growing independence in the kitchen.  

Children can practice scooping and pouring with Pantry Hunt Granola, exercise agency with Juicy Tomato Caprese Salad, hone fine motor skills with Sweet Potato Gnocchi, and cultivate patience with Blueberry Yogurt Pops. And through it all, experience the Montessori way of growing and connecting in the kitchen.  

Kritters Thoughts:  In my effort to try new things when it comes to parenting, I am thoroughly enjoying reading all sorts of books to gather all sorts of ideas and implement some of them.  When Caleb was ready to start transitioning from "boob juice" as welike to call it to food, I got excited about all the ways we could introduce him to food and decided I wanted to try them all.  

I am intrigued by the Montessori way of learning, so to see this book that focuses on Montessori in the kitchen with food - sign me up! I focused my reading on the 6-9 month baby led weaning, purees and such since that was where we are when this book releases, but I am excited to revisit this book when Caleb can join me in the kitchen and try his hand at being my sous chef.  

This book felt approachable and suggestive not instructive which I adored.  I loved the list and visuals on how to set up your kitchen to run smoothly while trying this way of cooking and feeding your little one.  I may add this book to my buy list for new moms and expectant moms.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.