Montessori Materials for Snack Preparation

Our snack preparation area is one of the children’s favorites in our Montessori Toddler and Montessori Baby classes! These materials can be used as early as 14 months up to 3 years old! Find 12 Montessori snack materials for toddlers below, including their presentation descriptions and links where to find all the tools!

Montessori Kitchen Setup

To encourage independence and responsibility, set your little one up for success by preparing a couple of these snack materials every day so your little one can make themselves a snack whenever they feel hungry. Your child can also prepare extras to share with you or a sibling. We also always have our little water dispenser available so the little ones can take a cup of water whenever they feel thirsty. There is just a little bit of water inside. In case it spills everywhere,

only offer as much water as you are willing to clean up afterwards.

Toddler Snack Table

A little snack table is a wonderful addition to the eating area, as little ones can take their work to the table, sit down and prepare their snack, and enjoy it in peace. Of course, when having family meals the child still joins the family table, but this space is for all the times they eat snacks alone. We love our adjustable table and chair set, handmade from beechwood.

Washing Dishes

Of course after enjoying their snack, your little one can help to clean up by putting their trash in the bin and placing their dirty dishes in a box to be cleaned. If you have a learning tower up to your sink, or a little wash station like this one, they can wash up their dishes themselves!

In our classroom the toddlers get water using this pitcher from the sink, fill the basins, wash and dry their dishes, and empty the dirty water into this bucket. They can then carry the bucket to the sink and empty it out again. It seems like a lot of steps, but the toddlers LOVE all this purposeful water work and they also enjoy seeing the result of a dirty to clean dish. This activity builds so much self esteem and is about much more than just washing up their dishes. 🙂 This is a custom wash station built with love by my husband, Chad at Montessori Mother Materials. 🙂

Montessori Snack Materials 1-6

Find the corresponding material presentation descriptions and links below! I tried to find the exact links I used wherever possible, but some materials I purchased a long time ago so I have listed the closet alternative I could find.

Food	Description	Setup
Egg	Crack egg on both sides with pestle, peel, add the bits of shell to mortar, slice egg in egg slicer, spoon onto plate, crush eggshells with pestle, enjoy!	Tray Anti-slip cover Mini mortar and pestle Egg slicer Mini plate Mini spoon Hard-boiled egg
Crackers and Cream Cheese	Spread cream cheese onto rice crackers with tiny knife, enjoy!	Tray Blue cutting board Small glass bowl – filled with 1 cream cheese box Mini plate Spreading knife 2 unflavored rice crackers
Orange Juice	Squeeze halves of mandarins or clementines, pour into fancy cup, enjoy	Tray Anti-slip cover Yellow plastic goblet Small bowl 1 mandarine (cut in half) Mini juicer Mini sponge (moistened)
Strawberries	Pluck off leaves, slice in strawberry slicer, spoon into bowl, enjoy!	Tray Red cutting board Trash cup Small bowl Strawberry slicer Mini spoon 2 strawberries with the leaves on
Peanuts	Crack with nutcracker, separate from peels, enjoy!	Tray Blue cutting board Small bowl Trash cup Wooden nut cracker A few peanuts in the shell
Blueberries	Enjoy eating blueberries with chopsticks	Tray Blue cutting board Small bowl Children’s chopsticks Toddler-sized handful of blueberries

Montessori Snack Materials 7-12

Food	Description	Setup
Banana	Peel banana, place peels in the trash cup, cut with knife, add to bowl, enjoy with fork, enjoy!	Tray Green cutting board Green toddler knife Small bowl Trash cup Half banana, cut 3 peel-deep lines along side
Mandarins/Clementines	Peel clementine, place bits of peel in the trash cup, divide into slices, enjoy with a fork!	Tray Anti-slip cover Small bowl Trash cup 1 mandarin (with corner pre-cut out)
Cucumber	Peel cucumber, place peels in the trash bucket, Cut into slices with toddler knife, transfer to bowl, enjoy!	Tray Mini cutting board Toddler knife Mini plate Trash bucket Mini peeler Snack cucumber
Carrot	Peel carrot, transfer peels to trash bucket, enjoy	Tray Red cutting board Mini plate Red trash bucket Mini peeler 1 sweet carrot
Tea Brewing	Cut mint and/or lavender from the gardenWash in the sinkPluck or cut leaves and place into flowered teapotAdd warm waterCount to 10 or 20 with the child to let the tea brewPour into glasses Invite friends to tea	Tray Anti-slip cover Pitcher for tea Saucer 3 glasses small scissors Tall pitcher of warm water (1/2 hot, 1/2 cold) Mini sponge
Water	Choose a cup, pour water into small pitcher from dispenser, transfer water into cup, enjoy	Water dispenser Mini pitcher Mini sponge Washrag on hook Mini cups on shelf