One way to get your kids more involved in meal times and support their growing independence is by allowing them to practice scooping and serving their foods. As parents we can often feel overwhelmed about this level of exploration because of the usual mess, and the extra time involved. While scooping and serving foods may seem like something silly or something that is easier for parents to do, let’s read on to learn more about why it’s important to incorporate this type of learning at home.
Pouring and scooping allows your child to build hand, wrist and arm muscles in addition to hand-eye communication both of which are helpful for future writing skills. Whenever possible allowing them to practice with items that are the appropriate size and weight for their hands. This will help keep them safe, allow them to be more successful in their work, limit overcompensation, and keep serving sizes in line with typical child eating portions.
Allowing your child to practice pouring or scooping provides multiple opportunities for learning. First there is the fine motor learning, building the muscle strength to complete early writing tasks. These activities also allow for improving hand-eye coordination as they need to use their spacial processing to complete the task. Pouring and scooping also provides for conversation starters that can further build vocabulary and comparison skills. As your child is practicing their pouring you can discuss which serving is larger, describe the sound of the items pouring from one container to another, the color of the containers, etc. Whenever possible allowing them to practice with items that are the appropriate size and weight for their hands. This will help keep them safe, allow them to be more successful in their work, limit overcompensation, and keep serving sizes in line with typical child eating portions.
If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate learning around practical life activities, be sure to follow along at Montessori Nutritionist.
