Cooking and Kids
As I sit here in my sanctuary (i.e. the only room in the house that hasn't been confiscated by my five kids or condemned by Martha Stewart)my children are in teh kitchen ooing and ahing over their latest cuilinary masterpiece. As I see it, it's more of an addition to their collection of noxious potions and 50 pound anchors. I asked myself today, 'What am I thinking, letting them get their grubby paws on my kitchen utensils, concocting inedibles and coercing me to be the taste-tester lest their embryonic self-esteems shatter?' I have to gather my wits before I emerge from this room and survey the damage, hoping against hope that we won't have to apply as a national disaster to get federal relief funds to repair the damage. I know there's probably cake batter smeared over every square inch of counter space, that whisks and spoons are glued to every level surface in the occasional pool of batter, that broken eggshells are strewn from stem to stern and that various trial runs are scattered about as smouldering embers or innovative shot put balls (what the heck do you call those cannon ball thingies, anyway?) But I must. Courage, Elisa, courage. After all, scientists have discovered that frayed nerves have regenerative capacity. So I answer my kids' excited pleas to inspect and (gulp) taste their piece de resistance by slowy pushing myself from my chair, taking the longest route possible to the kitchen and, bracing myself, looking toward the source of jubilation. Boy, am I surprised! Because what they've turned out is not just another anchor, bookend, or paperweight that they so proudly refer to as a cake. (And I do use the term loosely.) It's actually a homemade lemon meringue pie! And it looks just as good as Sara Lee's and Mrs. Smiths, if I do say so myself (Okay, so I did have to check the trash can for store bought pie boxes.) It looked so inviting I even dared to take a bite, and guess what! It was delicious! One look at the ecstacy in my eyes and they know they had a home run. The room was wall to wall grins.
Kids benefit so much from cooking that I truly believe the culinary disasters they make the first several times are worth it. They learn how to read directions (is that why mean don't crack open those owner's manuals?) They learn to learn andapply important math skills. They learn to work together as a team. They learn to contribute something to the family (although in this case, they seem to be contributing a bit too much to Mama's thighs.) They learn to be responsible because, if we're worth our salt as parents, we make sure they clean up after themselves. They have an opportunity to express their creativity in what I think is just another art form.And they amass wins by creating finished products that others enjoy. All we have to do is give them the supervision, supplies, ingredients and opportunity to practice and the stomach to weather their first tries.