Our new personal Chef

School work has taken a definite unschoolish bent since the twins were born, and one thing that our little first grader has been enjoying learning is kitchen skills. She is already very good at unloading the dishwasher, she habitually takes her dishes to the counter when she is done eating each meal, and she can peel carrots almost as good as grandpa Ed.... but ever since I came home from the library with a children's cookbook, (and she since found the other one she got as a present last year) she's been in the kitchen nearly every day attempting to make something.

First, Sean came downstairs to find her with a mixing bowl on the kitchen counter, her cookbook propped open, and flour, milk and eggs surrounding her on the table. She was making blueberry pancakes. With some assistance from Daddy, she learned how to measure, mix, crack eggs, and flip the pancakes.

The next day, after waking up to the sound of kids in the kitchen (how do they keep sneaking downstairs before I wake up?), I found them setting the table with a lovely breakfast of fruit shishkabobs they had made all by themselves for us. They couldn't find long skewers so they used toothpicks, and they knew they weren't allowed to use a knife without me, so they broke the banana with their fingers, and put whole strawberries on. Yummy!

The very next morning (do I detect a pattern here?) I found them in the kitchen with flour and milk all over the counter, trying to mix bowl full of flour, eggs and milk. They were making crepes. Crepes? My goodness! What ambitious little kids. I helped a bit with that recipe, but we had a nice breakfast that morning too. I was impressed with their ability. E read the recipe and figured out how much of everything to put in all by herself, and they even cracked the eggs by themselves and were insistent on telling me that they remembered to wash their hands after they did the eggs. Good little kids!

Now I just need to teach them how to make dinner for me, (and how to clean up after) and I'll be set!!

Post Script: She just walked by the computer and saw what I was blogging about, and now she's in the kitchen preparing to make slurpy spaghetti for dinner! Yay, it's working!!