Cooking with kids

It seems the second I step foot into the kitchen, to cook or not, the kids come running in asking “whatcha making, mommy?” as they pull out the step ladder and a kitchen chair to watch.

I love this inquisitive nature about young children. My biggest helpers are my two oldest children, currently almost 5 and 3.5.

Having them help has allowed me to be a slightly better cook and baker, giving them the “mundane” tasks I might otherwise choose not to do - such as mixing dry ingredients then adding them to liquid ingredients, or vice versa. Usually I’d throw everything together in my standing mixture and not pay too much attention to detail. However, two extra sets of hands can get to mixing the wet and dry ingredients seperately, leaving me to get the next task started.

In a nutshell, there are some ways in which they help me.

My five year old can:
- Crack eggs
- Level measuring cups
- Mix
- Knead soft doughs
- Gather ingredients
- Put ingredients away
- Use cookie cutters or butter knives to cut out shapes in dough
- Transfer baked goods to drying racks
- Help wash dishes and put them away
- Fill pots with water
- Help knead colors into play-doh and similar things (I start, then pass to her to finish kneading colors in after the risk of coloring staining hands and clothes!)
- Remind mommy about what needs to be added next

My three year old can:
- Mix
- Gather/Put away ingredients on low levels
- Spill measuring cupfulls/spoonfulls in the mixer or a bowl
- Wash vegetables or fruits
- Apply sprinkles and decorative measures