Pea Picking Plate
What you need
- a small spoonful of frozen peas, cooked until soft, squashed flat with the back of a fork and left to cool
- their plate
How to do it
- Squash the cooked peas flat with a fork and leave them to cool. Sit them upright in their chair, with you beside them, and put a few on their plate.
- Eat one pea and say "Mmm, pea."
- Leave the rest with them and see what they do.
- Add a few more when they are gone, and clear the plate when they finish.
Why it matters
A pea is small enough that the easiest way to pick it up is between a finger and thumb, and every one they pick up gets eaten.
What they're learning
- Finger and thumb
- Pinching a tiny piece of food between two fingertips.
- Feeding themselves
- Getting each pea from the plate to their mouth.
- Trying new food
- Seeing you eat a pea first makes it more tempting.
What to look for
Notice them nudging a pea to the edge of the plate before they pick it up.
A tip
Squash every pea flat so none stays round, and give only a few at a time. Stay right beside them the whole time they eat, with them sitting upright, and clear the plate away when they finish.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: put a few peas on a spoon for them to pick off
Harder: add a few small pieces of soft cooked pasta from their meal, as a second food to pick up
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