Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Kids in the Kitchen - Are You Crazy?


As a matter of fact . . . . . well, a little bit!  

The above picture is actually what happens when mommy runs to brush her teeth -
 but I thought you might get a kick out of it and it fit my intro. 

Truth be told, from the time they were very young my little guys have been quite fond of
 helping in the kitchen. Ok, so - that time boy #2 had the sniffles - I had to secretly throw
 away the celery he'd chopped for the dressing  instead of poisoning all our Thanksgiving guests -
 but usually it's not a problem. 

Toddlers chopping celery? 
You bet! 

We've actually never had a kitchen accident! I used to give them sturdy plastic knives to chop
 simple things like celery - once I got them started on a piece - with instructions to take their time -
 they took their jobs extremely seriously. If a piece of celery gets butchered beyond 
salvation in the process - it's well worth the price for the lessons they've learned while in the kitchen. 


These days we've graduated to table knives! My boys know that any knife can cut you and 
they are instructed to pretend it's the sharpest knife in town! If they don't listen carefully to directions
their kitchen time is up. Listening skills are important - so are safety issues. 

Kitchen time with the kids is a wonderful time to teach these and many more life skills! 


Sometimes we search for and plan recipes and meals as a group. 
It's a great time to teach about kitchen organization and meal planning .

Teamwork and cooperation are important lessons! 


Other times I'll send some little guys out to play and enjoy one on one time with another! 
They can learn on their individual levels and it opens the door for some great heart talks too


We have the opportunity to share family recipes passed down through generations
traditions, like canning jams or vegetables 

It doesn't have to be a complicated undertaking - as a matter of fact - beginning simple is important 

You don't have to have the kids prepare dinner, but by allowing them to snap peas or chop
mushrooms they'll be much more excited about eating it! 

I'm starting a new Linky for Tuesdays:




Copy and paste button pic with link or just copy and paste 
code box found on my side bar under "Button Love"! 


Link up your family friendly recipes, Kids in the Kitchen pointers,
or Top Secret Recipes handed down in the family!
(Just don't tell Aunt Jane)

Other great linkys:



Lisa from Our 4 Kiddos 
Has a  LinkUp for your recipes too!

15 comments:

Lisa Boyle said...

Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday!" :-)

Gidget said...

This is something that I struggle with! I am in awe of you being able to have all 3 in the kitchen at once - there is NO way I could do that! I get turned around crazy with just my 2 (and they are older) lol But, I DID let the 10yo turn the pancakes tonight :) progress is progress, right? :)

I love the first picture - kind of like "What, mom? Is this not what you wanted us to do?" hehe

Larri said...

Love this, Kelli! I firmly believe we should let our kids into the kitchen. I'm proud that my kids can cook their own breakfasts & lunches. My youngest son loves to cook. He makes dinner for us at least once a week, and has asked to go to culinary school. Why not embrace and encourage his passion? Happy Wednesday, friend! ☺

Anonymous said...

I love this!! My girls have been really into cooking lately...I have to get some posts together of what they have been doing!

Carrie said...

I adore seeing boys cooking in the kitchen! Psst! My husband is a much better (and calmer) cook than I'll ever be! And I pray that my youngest - a boy - takes after his dad because I know his future bride will be appreciative! Thank you for contacting me about your link up!

Alicia The Snowflake said...

I love this post! My 14 yr old has been cooking in the kitchen for quite a while now. I must admit, I am a recipe follower. Therefore so is he, but he's getting better. Both my husband and I come from a legacy of men cooks, so I am sure he'll be a good cook too!

Thanks for sharing! Blessings to you my friend!

Birgit J said...

Thank you for asking me to join this blog hop! I love your photos!

Jenn said...

Love the first photo! And also that your boys are so comfortable in the kitchen. My girls both love to cook, and I love having them in the kitchen with me:)

Mrs. Nerdy said...

Thanks for the follow! I am now following you as well! LOVE your blog! I linked up 2 of my posts!

Rina Peru said...

Thank you for inviting me over to link up. It's great that you work with your kids in the kitchen. My 11-year old girl can work alone, cooking her favorite recipe. My 4-year old boy messes around when I bake, but he can grease the muffin pan perfectly!

Susan said...

That first photo is so darned cute! :)
My girls have been cooking and baking with me in the kitchen since they were very small.
Thanks for sharing with "Look What We Did!"

Lisa said...

Thanks for the invite! I'm sharing my super easy recipe for homemade peanut butter -- simple enough for the kids to make, and they'll LOVE it! Blessings, ~Lisa :)

PS: I'm hosting a giveaway through Saturday; the link is at the bottom of my post. Stop by and sign up!

Unknown said...

LOVE having the kids cook in the kitchen! They didn't do much this past week, but we'll get back to THEM stirring and bakin' this coming week! I linked up! Next week I'll have your button added to my post! Fun!

Unknown said...

Oh, wait...how do I add a button (and resize it) without the code? I guess I need to figure that out! I can't seem to add URLs or HTTPs to my blog posts!

Unknown said...

Hi there again! I can do HTML codes for buttons, but can't seem to figure out how to resize URLs. (I guess those are the right INITIALS. LOL)