Teaching Kids to Cook {Making S'mores}

Do feel like you do, do, do for your kids all day?  Yes, as a mom that's what we're called to do.  We're here to serve our family, but there's a huge difference between serving one's family and waiting on one's family.  Serving is done with love without strings attached.  Waiting on harbors resentment.  When I feel like I'm waiting on my family I find myself thinking:

Maybe you could say 'thank you' once in a while!

Why do even waste my time helping them?

When do I get some time for myself?

Can you sense the sarcasm and anger?

FOOD!!

FOOD!!

FOOD!!

Seems my kids want food all day, every day.  There's never enough food.  Never enough snacks.  Never enough time to make all the food and snacks.

My solution is to teach my kids to cook.  I've included my kids in the kitchen since they were babies.  I've prepared many a meal with a baby in the Ergo, talking to them about what I'm doing and sweetly telling them how when they're old enough they'll be slicing the celery and cracking the eggs, mixing the meatloaf and washing the grapes.

There are so many tasks that can be done by young children, and cooking doesn't always involve the stove.  Think Cuties and grapes.  The youngest child can wash and stem grapes then put in a bowl.  Voila!  They just became a kid in the kitchen, and not one under foot causing you to trip.  Peeling Cuties is another great beginner task.

Recently, Peter has been into s'mores.  He had Sam making them for him and me making them for him, and all he did was eat, eat, eat.  Enough of that, I thought!  It's high time for him to learn to make his own s'more.  I mean really, he's 5 already.

Since he'd been watching us make them he already knew the process.  Graham cracker half, chocolate chips.

Balance marshmallow on top.

Carry to microwave.  Then what?  

I taught him how to set the microwave for 10 seconds and watch for the marshmallow to get big and puffy.

He removes it carefully and places the other graham cracker half on top.

Squeeze and enjoy!

And enjoy s'more!

To make it easy on him, I grabbed an ice cream pail so he could keep all the ingredients together on the pantry shelf.  Now, as long as he asks first, he can make a s'more all by himself.

Obviously, this isn't life sustaining, brain food for his first adult years of apartment living, but it's a good start.  And he's so proud of his accomplishment, which is the goal of these early days in the kitchen.

What have you taught your kids to cook?

What's holding you back from letting them in the kitchen?

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