The Family Table

Co-Director of the Academy, Heather Rahael, says the cookbook is an invitation into “the heart of this multi-cultural Montessori community”; a book that showcases favourite recipes and stories alongside photos that capture Montessori moments of “independence, respect, and love of learning”.

Heather also points out that since the inception of the Montessori curriculum in Italy in the early 1900s, healthy eating and food preparation have played integral roles in the teaching and nurturing of Montessori students. “And so a cookbook seemed like a natural project to provide the world with an insight into our community.”

She shares that the first rumblings of such a project came by much happenstance. At the school’s annual Mother’s Day tea last year, parents began requesting and sharing recipes that moved their taste buds. What began as an exercise in sharing recipes among parents and teachers evolved into The Family Table.

Heather says one of the cookbook’s main goals is to rekindle the atmosphere of family life at mealtimes. She notes that the modern trappings of society are also at the root of the breakdown of family bonding moments and experiences.

“Sometimes kids can’t even sit through dinnertime without being on their iPads or iPhones,” she laments of the ways mealtimes are now interrupted in the name of other forms of entertainment.

“With the cookbook, we are trying to promote families spending time together whether it’s during the prep of the meal, or sitting down around the table for family interaction that cannot be replaced,” she adds.

In true Montessori form, the recipes in The Family Table are all shared or passed down and are representative of the diverse backgrounds of the Academy’s students and families alike. Among many classic local recipes are also cosmopolitan dishes, recipes with Eastern flair, and popular international dishes that parents have tried to recreate or added their own unique twist.

Heather also mentions the “Fun for Kids” section, recipes that children can easily have input in and feel a sense of accomplishment and helpfulness in the kitchen. “Food is love and so much of what we consume and how we consume it relates to our family ties. When kids feel included in the preparation of meals, they are proud and are also learning lessons in independence.”

In fact, this sense of independence is one of the yardsticks of the Montessori curriculum. Heather explains that the goal of Montessori education is not to place emphasis on the achievement of high grades. Rather, students are encouraged to explore their varying interests while applying these skills to real life situations.

She gives an example of children who may not be inclined to the technical aspects of academia but who can apply their knowledge in the school’s kitchen preparing and sharing meals and snacks for their fellow schoolmates.

“In modern education, too much emphasis is placed on achieving satisfactory grades. When a child’s education is geared toward scoring the highest marks, their interests are not being fully explored. It becomes ‘I want to get good grades for Mummy and Daddy’. In the Montessori system, we encourage our children to learn at their own pace and explore several learning techniques; not just geared toward high academic achievement.” She has personally seen the ways in which Montessori education encourages children, rather than belittles them or turns them into institutionalised drones.

“Work in our studios abounds daily from cleaning up a spill on the table or floor, to making a shopping list for the snack chefs to purchase at the grocery store; from researching land formations to linking biomes studied last year in South America to the ones being studied this year in North America,” Heather describes the diverse ways learning and teaching take place at the Academy.

She hopes that the cookbook is just a peek into the lives of Montessori children and their families and will bring more understanding to the varying ways children learn, as well as the ways sharing meals can expand children’s experiences. While the Academy continues to evolve, she says their goal remains the same: “To provide families with a unique, authentic Montessori experience for each child.” The Academy, she describes, as a home away from home for all students, a safe and happy space they love to be in everyday, “where they have the freedom to be the best they can be – inspired, compassionate, self-motivated, and nurtured to be our entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow.”