Meals Menu

Food & Menus (Please advise us of any cultural or allergy needs)

Montessori @ North Strathfield has an onsite qualified chef.

We provide progressive nutritious and varied morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea everyday. We have our own chef on the premises and all meals are nutritionally balanced, supervised and culturally varied to ensure that children receive all the nutrients recommended.

A daily and weekly menu is displayed. Breakfast is not served, however some children may bring toast and cereal from home into the centre with them early in the morning. Please ensure this is a healthy option and please note we are a nut and junk free food zone. If a child comes in eating their breakfast they are set at a food table until they have finished eating, then they wash their hands and go off to play.  Do not send other treats in their bags.

Progressive Morning Tea & Afternoon Teas are provided and offered at the service. This is where children eat and socialise in small groups in a relaxed atmosphere. Progressive morning and afternoon teas allow children to choose when to eat and to have uninterruptive work and learning times. Salad vegetables and fruit are served daily and the children are involved in the growing and gathering of the salad vegetables and fruit.

Menu examples of the food provided:

• Morning Tea & Afternoon Tea
• Crisp bread with Cheese and cucumber, Fresh Fruit & Water
• Cereal milk Fresh Fruit & Water
• Pancakes With Banana & Milk/water
• Hommus dip with carrots & celery sticks & milk/water
• English Muffins with Cheese & Tomatoes & water
• Crispbread with Cheese, & water
• Fresh fruit and vegetable platters & yogurt

If your child has a cow’s milk allergy an alternative or water will be offered. Any food allergies or cultural restrictions must be detailed on the enrolment form and discussed with staff to be reflected in our menus. If your child has an allergy or food intolerance, then the service requires a management plan from your child’s Doctor.

Lunch

Lunch is provided and some examples are-

• Italian Tuna  pasta, SALAD Yogurt & water
• Lamb Kibbi Potato Wedges & Carrots Milk/WATER
• Stir fry chicken and vegetables Fruit YOGURT & WATER

In term 4, the children commencing school in the following school year will have their morning and afternoon teas served in lunchboxes with water bottles in preparation of their transition to Kindergarten.

Please bring a bottle of water each day with your child's name on it, this will be topped up for the children throughout the day.

We are family grouped and sit together as a community for lunch times. Mealtimes are also a time to encourage good social grace and courtesy (manners). For instance, quiet voices used when talking to our friends, using manners such as “thank you, please and you’re welcome”. Staff members encourage mealtimes to be enjoyable by sitting with the children and discussing the food (texture, its taste, which country it is from and so on). Children are encouraged to try all foods but do not have to eat all of their lunch it if they do not wish to.

All children need to be able to feed themselves and will quickly learn this skill at Montessori. We encourage self help skills and the children assist with setting the lunch tables and they also assist with putting scraps into the bin at the end of their meal. If a child has refused to eat anything by the end of lunch, educators will advise the parent that their child has not eaten their lunch. Please do not worry too much if your child has not eaten much for the day, as it is quite a common occurence when they initially start at daycare. Sometimes they don’t eat as much as other times, sometimes they eat more at morning and afternoon tea times than at lunchtimes. We display charts to advise families of daily food consumption.

After lunch time, fresh fruit is offered as part of our dental hygiene practices.

Water is served with every meal and offered at other times during the day. We have bubblers which are located outside and the children are taught to use these, as this is a great skill to have before going to school. All children are encouraged to bring in their own water bottles to the services which are kept in their lockers, please ensure the bottle is clearly labelled with your child’s name.

If your child requires a feeding bottle please give to the staff to store in the fridge. It must be labelled with your child’s name and clear instructions given to the staff as to the time it is to be offered to the child.

Parents are asked to send one piece of fruit a day with their child.

At Montessori @ North Strathfield we regularly practice Munch and Move, Department of Health program that promotes healthy eating with regular and routine exercises. The children will talk and discuss about everyday and sometimes foods.