Montessori Tides School – Jacksonville Beach, FL

Montessori Tides is a promoter of healthy eating habits. Our parents provide snack for the entire class on a rotating basis. At the beginning of the school year an appropriate snack schedule is sent home listing any foods that could be a hindrance to a student’s diet. Typically families provide fruit, vegetable, and grains. This year, we are a nut free school.

Today, Sophia brought celery, Sun Butter Spread, and raisins to make Ants on a Log. “It was a mommy idea,” Sophia shared, “She always has the best ideas. I went with her to the grocery store to get what we needed. I found aisle 9!”

Montessori Tides recognizes the importance of child participation in our lives. This may include shopping together, preparing and serving family

One of the things I love most is how seamlessly Montessori incorporates holiday and seasonal materials into everyday work, allowing children to experience the holiday throughout the whole season. Working with clay is great for developing fine motor skills. By adding a little holiday spice to a traditional clay recipe, you are incorporating different material to help the child explore it in new ways.

To make Apple-spice clay, you can use Ms. Nancy’s favorite clay recipe and add a bunch of apple pie spice, and extra cinnamon and nutmeg. Also you will want to add red food coloring. Click here for her traditional clay recipe.

The photo below shows how you can set this work up. The clear container holds the lump of clay. The wooded bowl holds teeny tiny pieces of twigs to use for stems. For leaves, I used real leaves from a plant; however, silk leaves are

Zucchini Bread

Submitted by: Jennifer Lawson

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 hr
Makes 2 loaves
Great for freezing!

2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)*
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
(optional) lemon zest
(optional) 1/2 cup raisins

* I have substituted 1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded yellow squash or shredded carrots for zucchini for variety

1. Preheat oven to 350, spray bottoms of 2 (8×4 inch) loaf pans with cooking spray
2. In large bowl, mix zucchini, applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Spoon into loaf pans.
4. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with chick peas!)

Submitted by: Jennifer Lawson

Prep Time: 20 min
Makes (at least) 2 dozen cookies
From Jessica Seinfeld’s “Deceptively Delicious”

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
• 2 lg egg whites
• 2 tsp pure vanille extract
• 1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. In large mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, beqat beat sugar and margarine until smooth. Beat in egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips.  Add flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.  Mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.

3. Drop the dough by

What’s for snack? What’s for dinner? What’s on our plates? Montessori Tides created a page about food, cooking, and eating…. and the comfort and challenges that come along with it. The best part of all, our recipes and experiences are from you, our community members, future members, and fans. That’s right! Montessori Tides is bringing back the Recipe Exchange!

We understand the challenges adults face in finding the right foods for their families. We believe food is not only best for you, but also tastes best, when it is prepared together, ate together, and served in love. Everyone has good recipes to share, including those of us who don’t consider ourselves “cooks.” If you have ever made food for yourself and/ or children to eat, you’ve cooked. And we want your secret! (Don’t forget to reference a cookbook, if you followed their recipe.)

Perhaps, you shop at a local