Constance's blog

Cooking 101

I remember, as a teacher, creating newsletters for parents.  They included such helpful tips as "involve your child in shopping" and "let your child help in the kitchen" as tips to increase math opportunities in a true to life fashion.  Right now, I would love to reach through time and strangle myself (just a bit, of course). 

Lately I decided to give my own advice a try and let the kids help in the kitchen.  Here are the results of my experiments....

Trial 1:  Luke:

I began with something rewarding and simple...pancakes.  Measuring went well, pouring ingredients in a bowl was a hit.  Stirring was a success.  Then it came to egg breaking.  Being a novice at this, I had him crack the eggs in a separate bowl, and of course a piece of the broken shell fell in.  I then casually asked Luke to remove the shell so we could finish up the batter.  He did remove the shell, with a lot of reservations, and then was so disgusted by the slimy texture that he declared he would never ask to crack an egg again.  Exit Luke from the kitchen for an indefinite amount of time.

Trial 2:  Tessa

Tess is my true girly girl, so I figured some cookies to go with a little "tea party" would be just the thing.  Snickerdoodles are a favorite of my under 4 feet tall crowd, so those are the cookies we set out to create.  Again, the gathering of ingredients, mixing, and pouring all went well.  Tessa had no problem removing egg shells and probably would have played in the egg all day if allowed.  There was a small mixer speed issue that resulted in batter splattering on nearby walls and counter, but that was soon amended.  Then, Tessa's creative streak came out and it was decided that snickerdoodles would be even better with rainbow sprinkles added.  I had never tried that before, but what could be the harm?  Rolling and baking were sucessfully performed and the cookies were delicious.  A kitchen victory!!

Trial 3:  Quincy

You may wonder what a two year old can do in a kitchen.  My quick answer is...plenty!  My little boy is a frequent visitor in the kitchen.  He loves to pull up his stool and join right in.  The most recent trial was during the preparation of potatoes.  As I was peeling, Quincy watched with interest for all of 2 minutes.  Then he started squiggling around on his stool and started the empty dishwasher.  I ran around the counter and shut it off.  Then back to the sink I went.  This was apparently fun for a little boy to watch, so he started the dishwasher again...and again.  I then moved the stool to the other side of the counter with me and continued peeling.  Robbed of his dishwasher buttons, Quincy then decided to lick each and every dirty dish that was waiting to be loaded into said dishwasher.  This, of course, led to the dishes being loaded and taken out of temptation's way.   Quincy was apparently not satisfied with his snack of stuck on, disgusting food particles and decided to lick all of the peeled potatoes that had managed to accumulate in the bowl despite all of his help.  They must have tasted good because he then took a nice bite out of one of the crunchy, raw potatoes.  It was at that point that I declared an end to the trial and chased Quincy out of the kitchen.  

With the track record of one out of three, perhaps we should order out more.  There is math in dialing a telephone, too!

The end of a beautiful beginning...or maybe just a continuing beginning

Somehow, a child turning six seems like a huge milestone to me.  Five and below is still so young, but SIX!!  THAT is a different story altogether.  Six is kindergarten and long hair.  Six is playdates with only girls (NO boys) and no more cute overalls.  Six is tapping on the door of peer pressure and difficult mother/daughter talks.  How can this be my little baby girl???

Yes, Tessa is six today.  It is hard for me now to imagine her being anything else, but I am just not ready for her to keep getting older and older.  I love her in the here and now so much!!  

It always amazes me how children's personalities are really so consistent but still manage to unfold before us...deepening and strengthening before our very eyes.  From birth, Tessa has always been my strong willed and spirited little girl.  These traits, only hinted at in infancy, have developed and grown as she has.  For all that I have hoped to have taught her, she has taught me so much more.   She realizes that it doesn't matter if things don't match and that pink is pretty.  She knows that you don't always have to stay in the lines and that glitter should be put on anything and everything.  Tessa accepts that projects will get finished in their own time...that you shouldn't rush them to just get them done.  She is convinced that cheetah print is the new black.

My oldest daughter is definitely not the person I am and for that I am so grateful.  Things that are not instinctive to me are just there within her.  I'm glad I don't have to teach her how to be passionate about what she loves or how to not give up no matter what.  She doesn't need to learn how to be aware of others or how to love unconditionally.

Despite all of this, there are still some difficult skills to conquer:  how to deal with not always getting your way, sharing (yes, still!), respecting the wishes of others, and many more.  The funny thing is that these are all things even I still need to work on at times.  It seems my daughter is catching up to me and we will eventually be traveling through this world side by side rather that as a guide and a follower.  What an amazing-yet so natural-thought!