Cooking with youngsters

One of our family hobbies that we do together is cooking. It is what we love doing among, as of late, building legos. I decided to make my girls waffles this morning as Natalie said to me the other day, "we always have cereal for breakfast.'' Meaning it was probably two days in a row. I mix it up by usually doing eggs & toast, steel cut oatmeal, cereal, and then every now in then spice it up with something special or different. Back to this morning, I had the girls in the kitchen on stools next to me taking turns dumping ingredients into the bowls. I had two extra large eggs in the fridge left when the recipe called for three. I felt it down in me...that Emily was going to drop one of those eggs and sure enough it happened. And did I react? Yes! "Emily!" You can hear it now, can't you? I did. #Parent fail. I got caught up in the motions. I made things right and then they both left to go play with their blocks. Sigh. It made me think, do I encourage them to do things in the kitchen and how do I find that balance of not losing my cool over spilled eggs? I forgot to mention their ages. Natalie will be gasp, a whopping five in a little over a month from now and Emily just turned 3. Katie is one so she just hangs out by my legs or crawls around looking for spare crumbs. I have my neighbors kids come over on an almost daily basis and they are 8 and 6. When I cook with them things go ever so smoothly. I think it has a lot to do with age. Natalie has surprised me with her ability though. She is not afraid to get her hands dirty and work with raw chicken. She can now cut with a sharp knife under supervision, of course. She can cut bread, make bread, roll out dough, crack an egg, cut up fruit, among other things. She is so good at coordination and staying neat. I think that's why we work well together in the kitchen. Messes are going to happen. I make mistakes too! They are not going to learn if I don't let them and make it fun. So much learning can take place in the ordinary daily routine of life. I thought it was funny as Natalie has started asking me if she can clean! Saaay whaaaat? It's because she sees me do it and wants to emulate what she sees or maybe I just caught her on a really good day, ha!

They have kitchen chores too. They each empty out the dishwasher. Emily put away the silverware (helps with sorting) and Natalie sets out all the dishes on the counter as I put them away. They also fold the rags, cloth napkins, and hand towels and put them away. I'm hoping they can just take over in another few years! They are my little sous chefs. How do I try to make it fun while not losing my cool? I think a Big way is in making it a habit. I let them be in the kitchen with me. There are times when I cannot have them nearby, but in general I let them be apart of what I am making if they are interested. Secondly, I make it Fun. I let them touch, feel, smell the ingredients. I let them go out to cut herbs from the garden to add to our dish. Emily likes to just pick our chives now and chew on them. When they finish eating fruit, they want to save the seed and plant it. We've planted a peach pit and beans. They think it's a magic bean stalk like Jack's. They love to water their plants. They are learning to take pride in their environment. When they go out to inspect our garden, they are thrilled to find another green bean or a tomato. I think they appreciate the taste of things more when they have an active roll in it. I remember the time we went to my aunts farm and milled corn to make corn meal. We brought it home and made corn bread. Did it taste better? You betcha! They were so proud. I like taking them to our local farm Happy Cow as well to see where our milk, butter, and cheese comes from. We go to our local farmers market and pick up peaches or better yet go to the orchard and pick them ourselves. I guess what I'm drawing from all of this is it builds lasting memories in your children. It can be a way for you to bond. Thirdly, start off small. Let them try new things. Let them use a butter knife to cut their pb and j in half. Let them put the salt and pepper on your egg or sprinkle some spices in your sauce. Find a recipe that you are comfortable with and let them do the measuring, etc. Make up a recipe together! Natalie made up a recipe for her baby sister and we made it! We mashed up a banana and then added applesauce. She was so proud of herself and received joy in sharing it with her sister. Lastly, you're going to learn patience. It has stretched me, I still fail but I know that in the long haul it will be worth it. My grandma told me she wishes she would have taught her kids how to cook as she had to have back surgery and her kids didn't know how to help out at all in the kitchen when she really needed help. I want them to be comfortable enough to know how to cook an egg// how to do basic things that will grow into a desire to love cooking and use it to bless others. I can't help but to think of a lady in our church who uses her gift/talent in making dishes to bless others. It is such an act of service. I know not everyone cooks, but I challenge you to give it a gander and you may fall in love like I did. My husband taught me and now, as I mentioned earlier, it's a hobby of ours. Happy cooking everyone even with youngsters! What are some ways you cook with your littles? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Ps. I think that egg that Emily dropped did make my floor more shinier. She was trying and so excited to show me how big that egg was! I would have been so cool with it if I had more eggs to spare. I failed to snap pictures of us making waffles this morning, but here are some of the girls helping out.