Montessori classrooms place a strong emphasis on fostering awareness and appreciation for different cultures and religions. In our lower elementary classrooms, one way we achieve this is by engaging in cultural research and cooking experiences. To begin, students are organized into multi-age groups, and collectively, they select a country for research. Once the country is chosen, each student picks a specific topic of interest to explore.
For example, first-grade students might opt to delve into aspects like animals or landmarks of the chosen country. Second-level students often focus on subjects such as the country’s flag, holidays, or traditional cuisine. Meanwhile, third-level students may research various aspects like a typical day in the life of a child from that country, its political history, geography, or indigenous cultures. To complement their written research, students frequently incorporate visual aids like timelines, dioramas, clay models, or other artistic elements. It’s truly remarkable to witness the growth that occurs over the span of three years, as our youngest students initially start with simple paragraphs and progress to writing multi-paragraph essays.
The culmination of this endeavor involves the group coming together to decide on a recipe from the chosen country, which they then prepare and share with the class. Students write invitations to their parents, inviting them to join in on the cooking experience and stay for the presentation.
This year, our first cultural cooking group chose to explore the vibrant culture of Brazil, where they delighted in making fried plantains and Brazilian cheese bread for everyone to savor!
What to try the recipes the children used?
Easy Fried Plantains (Courtesy of Tasting Table)
Ingredients
- 2 ripe plantains
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Directions
- Peel the plantains by chopping off the ends, then gently scoring the skin in the middle and peeling it off.
- Slice the plantains at an angle into ½-inch pieces.
- Lay the plantain pieces on a plate, and sprinkle them with salt.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a frying pan, and bring the heat up to medium-low.
- Carefully add the plantains to the hot oil, and cook for 7 minutes on each side.
- Drain the plantains on a paper towel before serving.
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo) (Courtesy of AllRecipes)
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil or butter
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅓ cup milk or soy milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ⅔ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 beaten eggs
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Combine olive oil, water, milk, and salt in a large saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from the heat.
- Stir in tapioca flour and garlic, stirring until smooth. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir cheese and eggs into tapioca mixture until combined; the dough will be chunky, like cottage cheese.
- Drop dough by 1/4 cup-size balls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
This post was written by Abigail H. Wexler, M. Ed., Certified Elementary Montessori Teacher at Hudson Montessori School.
