This got too long to leave on the monkeyplatter page.

Someone pointed this out to me to try to show that I didn't make the term up. I think it's more likely that someone creating a platter for children lifted the term from a parent (unschooler or not) than that I somehow stole an idea from a winery in New Zealand.

Children’s Menu

The earliest version I can find is November 2004:
     Monkey Platter – colby cheese, meat, crackers, fruit and treats: $6.00

When I first brought a link here, it said this:
     Monkey Platter, ham, cheese, fruits, fresh bread, crackers & LCM bar $8.00

When I went to repair a non-working link in 2021, I found a slightly later Wayback Machine version:
     Monkey Platter – with ham, cheese, tomato, cucumber muffin with treats on the side - $8.50

Currently (December 2021), one must be 18 to even open the website, and the first item on the childrens' menu now says:
     Kids Platter
     With ham, cheese, fish bites, and tomato sauce, fresh
     seasonal fruits, a small salad, and popcorn.
     $14.50

The point I want to make is that 2004 was 12 years or more after I started using the term, and I wrote about it in the late 1990s. PERHAPS we came up with it independently, but I didn't lift it from a winery menu.

More about food and eating peace "Building an unschooling Nest"