Tools for kids to use to cut, chop, and slice their veggies out of the garden have been essential in our kitchen classroom. For starters, students do great just tearing or breaking veggies in half with their hands. Also, just scissors work great!
$10.99 at Amazon.com (click image for link)
To start working on knife skills, these nylon Curious Chef knives have been the best. They are not sharp to the touch but easily cut through most vegetables we grow on the garden.
$15.48 at Amazon.com (click image for link)
To chop harder veggies like carrots and potatoes, these wavy cutters work great! They again, are not sharp to the touch but they slice easily with a downward push. The kids love the wavy cuts as well!
$5.95 at Amazon.com (click image for link)
One of the best discoveries I’ve made is this hand crank chopper. Students can chop onions for example into quarters and then put them in the chopper. Then they can use a hand crank to chop the rest very quickly (like a food processor… but without the need to run electrical cords). It’s also a great way to make salsa or guacamole! It’s very time efficient but the blades ARE sharp. I require students to place the veggies in without their fingers entering the cup and they must raise their hand and have an adult remove the blade when they are done. These work much better than the press choppers I have tried.
$19.99 on Amazon.com (click image for link)
Tending Our Common Ground 