Teaching Home Ec is almost a lost art in the PSS (public school system),
and many kids (boys and girls) are not getting it at home either.
Years ago, I joined Flylady ... and I was struck by the huge number of women
who just didn't know HOW to cook and clean and plan ahead,
and the nearly constant streams of
"I wish I had learned this as a child."
And so I doubled my efforts to teach my children to be adults when they grow up.
What do I want my kids to grow up to be?
Grown Up Adults.
And one thing that means is knowing what to do in the kitchen.
When Story was born, we lived in a small town house,
but it had a great kitchen,
and Story spent a great deal of her time
under my feet.
She learned to stack using my plastic containers,
and was helping load the dishwasher before she was a year old.
(not anything dangerous)
By the time Song was born,
she considered herself quite the chef ...
She loved cleaning the floors,
and if soap and water wasn't around,
Crisco would do just fine.
(Ironically, my mom has a similar picture of me at about the same age.)
and many kids (boys and girls) are not getting it at home either.
Years ago, I joined Flylady ... and I was struck by the huge number of women
who just didn't know HOW to cook and clean and plan ahead,
and the nearly constant streams of
"I wish I had learned this as a child."
And so I doubled my efforts to teach my children to be adults when they grow up.
What do I want my kids to grow up to be?
Grown Up Adults.
And one thing that means is knowing what to do in the kitchen.
When Story was born, we lived in a small town house,
but it had a great kitchen,
and Story spent a great deal of her time
under my feet.
She learned to stack using my plastic containers,
and was helping load the dishwasher before she was a year old.
(not anything dangerous)
By the time Song was born,
she considered herself quite the chef ...
She loved cleaning the floors,
and if soap and water wasn't around,
Crisco would do just fine.
(Ironically, my mom has a similar picture of me at about the same age.)
And the very next morning, she made up
for her mistake be cooking pancakes for breakfast.
Never mind the milk and eggs ...
she could reach the pancake mix!
She had a tea party nearly every day.
and sometimes, she even had real friends over
to practice her serving skills.
It wasn't long before Song was included in
Story's shenanigans.
Story was a natural teacher,
and Song was eager to learn.
Story especially liked to help make bread,
and loved to dress up and smell the bread
while it cooled.
Bread Machine's are wonderful.
Story's towers got more elaborate.
By age 5,
we let them start learning knife skills.
Story loved using the knife to cut all of the soft items for the table,
pickles for hamburgers,
bananas for cereal,
cucumbers and olives for salads.
By age 6, she was using a "real knife"
to cut celery, tomatoes, and lettuce.
My mom decorated cakes.
So she often let the girls use up the left over cake pieces and colors
to practice making their own cakes.
We gardened.
Well, actually - we assisted relatives
gardens.
At that point in time, we were "homeless".
I'll have to tell that story someday.
Story discovered that the LOVED to shell peas.
She STILL loves to shell peas and beans.
She says it is relaxing.
Which is really something coming from a child
with ADHD.
Another attempt at a cake for the Ref's birthday.
Song did the Winnie the Pooh
Story has the Ref playing golf and has a basket ball hoop.
And cakes for Aunt's birthdays.
She didn't make the whole cake here,
but Gram let her fill in all of the large pieces.
Kids and Kitchens
it worked for us!
Favorite Meals
(they cook)
Spaghetti
Salads
Pancakes
Omlicakes
Chili
Tacos
Breads
Stews
For more ideas
Follow the Linky List
at
http://raisingolives.com/2012/05/teaching-kids-cook-moms/
