I realized that I do all of the food preparation around my house. Which is OK, however, my girls need to start taking over some of that responsibility. Especially my 8 and 9 year old. They are definitely old enough to help in the kitchen and to be able to prepare some basic meals. I have found too that they really enjoy being with me in the kitchen cooking. We get to spend time together, talk and learn. I have found that once I got over the fact that everything might be a bit slower at first (I can chop a pot of veggies by my self quicker than my two girls can together) I really enjoyed the time with my girls too. I think too that it gives them a sense of accomplishment. When dinner is on the table they have the pride of knowing that they helped.
So here is our cast of characters last night.
Baby Girl Punk, well, she munched on crackers and felt like she was helping.
Punk #1 Got to chop the onion. And discovered the fine art of crying over a chopped onion!
Look at how good she is doing. I had been married about 5 years before I mastered the art of a well chopped onion, and she is doing it at 9!
Punk #2 peeled and chopped the carrots. She had a great time plopping them in the pot of boiling water with out splashing!
Here Punk #2 is chopping the potatoes. I as a general rule do not peel potatoes. I don’t like taking the time, and the peel is the most nutritious part of the whole potato! I don’t even peel them for mashed potatoes, unless I am wanting to be fancy.
And, last, but not least. Punk #3 stirring the soup, she also got to add all the spices.
Now, the kids wanted me to take a picture of the soup cooking, but the steam kept fogging up the lens, so you will just have to take my word for it when I say that it looked really, really yummy. Especially on a freezing cold day like it was yesterday. They were all very excited to tell Dad that they helped make soup!
So fun! I love when the girls get so excited over what we’ve come to think of as mundane chores. I bet it tasted delicious!
You are such a good Mom!
And Dad did love the soup. It was a really nice treat after coming home in a car with a broken heater.
You are a good mom. I like those white wrist bands! Where did you learn to cook?
Aimee, you are a great mom to take the time to teach your children. I love your insight.
Where did I learn to cook? From a book….haha, just kidding mom! You at one point in my life did cook.