Smiling faces around the table at I.A. 松本’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner Party Cooking and eating together are very important processes in our Montessori classroom. There are many reasons why we feel the act of creating and sharing a meal is an essential part of learning, growing, and building our school community. More than 100 years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori set out to instruct the whole child, a concept very unique in her day. Like Dr. Montessori, our goal is to create independent, self-sufficient individuals. Food pre-paration helps to do this, all the while incorporating aspects from every learning discipline in the Montessori environment.