As the weather cools off, my desire for warmth and coziness kicks in. Nothing says cozy to me like the flicker of a candle and the smell of freshly baked bread or cookies. And, of course, my kids want in on the action, which can be both gratifying and stressful. I love that they want to be with me and help, but it is so much easier to do everything myself! However, a few years ago, I discovered some strategies that have helped me to squelch the inner perfectionist that says, “Ack! You’re making a mess!” My kids get to sit on the barstools or the counter while we work together. And, really, it is the “together” part that warms our hearts and creates a bond.

• Use a kitchen towel as your tablecloth. Seriously, this is the simplest way to allow your kids to help you in the kitchen without making a huge mess. If you allow your child to measure ingredients like flour or sugar, they are SURE to leave a mess on the counter. However, if you have put a towel under the bowl and flour canister (basically the entire work area), then it won’t matter if the flour misses the bowl. Just shake the flour off into the sink and the mess is gone!
• Pre-measure the ingredients yourself. When my kids were younger, I pre-measured everything and lined up the cups or bowls on the towel for them to dump into the mixing bowl. Boys LOVE to dump stuff in the bowl, so this satisfied their need to help. YES, you will end up with more dishes to wash, but get over it. You are creating memories!
• Let your child hold the teaspoon while you pour the vanilla. As my kids got older (they are now 4 and 7) they wanted to be even more involved in measuring (which leads to many wonderful math lessons - {heart singing!!}). Wet ingredients are harder for them to manage, so I have them hold the measuring spoon, resting it on the edge of the bowl to keep it steady, while I pour the wet ingredient into the spoon and then they dump into the bowl.
• Let them crack the eggs. Actually, this is something that I let both boys do at a fairly young age. I like to wash the egg before I put it in their clean hands, especially if it is a farm fresh egg (the chicken poop is fascinating to little boys, but still rather gross!). Then, they crack their egg into a small bowl (we do the tap on the edge of the bowl method around here). They LOVE the gross feel of the slimy egg, and they feel REALLY important because they got to crack the egg. If some egg runs off onto the kitchen towel, who cares, right? If some egg shell gets into the bowl, I just pick it out before I let them dump it into the big bowl. We have had a couple of eggs that have not made it into the bowl at all and one time the entire egg got crushed into the bowl, but surprisingly, most eggs fair better than this. Allowing your child to crack the egg is a HUGE confidence booster!

There are many benefits of allowing your child to help you in the kitchen, including bonding, a confidence boost, basic life skills, math, reading and just plain fun!

Do you have any cooking with kids tips that I can add to my list?

PS - Cole made some whole wheat bread in our bread machine today and he wanted me to share the recipe with you!

Whole Wheat Bread

Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order listed:

• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbs. Water
• 2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
• 4 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or a combo of wheat and white, heavy on the wheat)
• 3 Tbs. Nonfat Dry Milk

Now make a little well in the center using a spoon and add:

• 2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

This will make a 2 lb. loaf, so use the cycle recommended by your manufacturer. Cole likes to use the Light Bread cycle rather than the Whole Wheat cycle because it gives him a softer crust.

Be Sociable, Share!

•