PL 6.02Banana Peeling and Slicing
The child peels a banana and cuts it into slices with a child-safe knife on a cutting board.
Presentation
- 1
Invite the child. Wash hands and put on aprons.
- 2
Place the banana on the cutting board. Hold the stem, snap it down, and pull the peel in strips. Put the peel in the bowl.
- 3
Lay the banana flat on the board.
- 4
Hold the banana with your non-dominant hand, fingers curled on top, away from the knife.
- 5
Hold the knife by the handle, blade down. Cut straight down with a small back-and-forth sawing motion. Keeping the fingers curled away is the difficulty isolated.
- 6
Move the knife along and cut the next slice. Try to make slices the same thickness.
- 7
Place the slices on the serving plate.
- 8
Invite the child to cut. Put the peel in the compost and wash the board and knife.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Slice other soft foods: strawberries, cucumber, cooked potato
- Cut slices of equal thickness and count them
- Serve banana slices to classmates at snack
Control of error
Uneven or joined slices show the cut did not go all the way down; fingers close to the blade are visible to the child and adult.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Keeps the holding fingers curled away from the knife
- Cuts all the way through each slice
- Serves and cleans up without prompting
Guide note
Knife work is always within sight of an adult. Use a knife that cuts soft food but not skin.