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Know you should be teaching your kids how to prepare meals, but can never find the time?
  

Resigned to the fact that your family will eat out too often again this summer?

...or are you just tired of doing all the work?

What if you could teach skills that will last a life-time,
save money on restaurants, and
make happy memories with your kids?

Organize summer meals by creating a "culinary school" in your own kitchen
and

Make Dinner Matter!

     This summer vacation marks the third year in a row I have made a summer cooking schedule for our family.  In the beginning, I decided to have the kids help me - just so I wouldn't be alone in the kitchen.  Now my food allergic tween proudly prepares entire meals for the family - on her own!  My goal for your family is to keep the expectations realistic and the mood fun.  This means writing the toddler into the rotation too! 
     Sound too complicated?  Hey, you've got weeks worth of soccer practice, or swim lessons on the calendar.  Teaching your kids independence in the kitchen is important.  And less expensive than signing them up for another camp.  What if you just scheduled it in?

For example:
1. COMMIT  I selected the 7 weeks between Monday, June 20th, and Sunday, August 7th.

2. BE REALISTIC  Of the 49 days, I figured 2 per week for special occasions and/or eating out.  Subtracting a vacation week left 30 days to make dinner matter. 

3. ASSIGN DUTY Who gets to cook/help you cook dinner when...?  Put it on the calendar!  (Note: Use the phrase, "gets to," rather than "has to!"  It will change your attitude too.)

Considering?  Read on...

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Make Dinner Matter

Step 1 - Menu Plan

One of the benefits of being assigned a night in our house is getting to select the meal!  If this is new for your family, you may want to select a few kid-friendly cookbooks from the library for inspiration.  It also helps to menu plan once a week and shop for as many items as possible at one time.  To save money, you may want to shop first and hit the sales, then menu plan based upon what you purchased. 

Bonus points - As you schedule the meals, display a few days worth of "menus" on the fridge (or computer screen).  Have your kids write (or type) it up.  They look forward to their meal nights!...Can't write yet?  Kids can glue pictures of items - or draw them.

Step 2 - Make Time

Kids in the kitchen need time to explore.  Make sure you allow enough time for food prep, mishaps, and messes!  Then teach them how to clean-up...

Step 3 - Land the Helicopter

Don't hover.  If a particular task makes you nervous, break down the steps and teach your child how to perform it safely.  If your child has never cut an onion, for example, you have a lot of groundwork to lay (use a cold onion, pre-cut manageable chunks, and be ready with sympathy if eyes are burning).  Learning a new task is nerve-wracking if someone keeps catching you doing it wrong. 

Above all be flexible, be realistic, and have fun!  Think you are going to try it?  Have questions?  Let me know...

Knife Skills for Toddlers 
Food Allergy Organization Tips 

p.s. I have a super-picky eater.  On his nights, someone else prepares the meat for the rest of us, as needed,  because meat grosses him out! 

Whose Turn Is It?

"Did anyone feed the dog?"
 "The table should be set for dinner."  
"Who has time to hang the cloth napkins to dry?"

Managing the day-to-day household responsibilities can be a chore.   How to divvy it all up?

When I was a classroom teacher, we assigned jobs by the day: Line Leader, Paper Passer, Attendance... Whenever a need arose, the designated kiddo popped up to help.

Though older kids are less likely to "pop up!" at home, assigning responsibilities by the day has proven effective in our family.  My son has Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.  My daughter is responsible Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Hubby takes Sunday.

The dog is scratching her bowl.  Whose day is it?
Time for dinner, but the table hasn't been set.  Whose day is it? 
A load of cloth napkins is ready to be hung to dry.  Whose day is it? 

This system is also helpful because it teaches a variety of skills.  When the designated family member is unavailable, I might get a volunteer chirping, "It's not my day, but...I'll feed the dog."

Don't call them chores.  Call them responsibilities.  

Responsibility.  A comic thriller by Nigel Cox. 

Interpretive Discussion

My eight volunteer teaching weeks at the local elementary school conclude this week.

Groups of approximately 10 kiddos meet with me during lunch and recess.  Each day is a different grade level.  While I am glad the workload is coming to an end, I will miss the daily inspiration.

The Program?
Junior Great Books - "An interpretive discussion program that moves students toward excellence in reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing."

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An unexpected surprise last week was a story with a lesson about clutter...from an African Folk Tale, no less!

Inspired by the unique perspective on the topic, I prepared an additional extension activity for my fourth grade class.  On a giant piece of white butcher paper, I drew an outline of a tree, set out crayons, and asked the students to fill the top branches with words about their lives.

They wrote:     book titles,                  x-box games,               soccer and other sports,         macaroni           and cheese and other food,       markers, crayons, and yarn,            religious ed.,              names of pets and siblings,              and favorite sports teams,                             

and music                    and movies...

(They wrote lots of other stuff too,
but one of the students asked to 

take the end result home 

and I don't have it to refer to.)

The bottom trunk
of the tree
(per the overall
concept
from the
story)
was 
left blank.

The colorful top of the tree was heavy with color and detail.  We discussed all the fabulousness the world has to offer.  And that our story in the text referred to it as, "clutter."  At first the kids were offended.  They thought I was saying their lives were messed up.

The Problem?
The tops of our trees are running out of room.  The clutter (or disorder) of man-made stuff is threatening our empty space.  As we discussed the idea further, I realized their generation will have to be conscious of making their own boundaries in this land of opportunity.  They will be responsible for reducing the clutter.  For increasing the space between the leaves.

These kids are fortunate to be living in abundant times.  They will need to be taught to see below the clutter.  To appreciate the simplicity of the trunk that supports them. To see the forest for the trees.

Pretty tall order :)