One thing we’ve implemented this school year is that each kid (except Ian) has an assigned dinner night.  They plan the menu (which must be approved by the mamma, of course), help add the ingredients to our grocery list, and do as much of the actual preparation and cooking as possible.  Consequently, little hands in a bowl of sticky dough has been a pretty common occurance in our kitchen.  The book I raved about in this post is getting splashed and doughy, and the beauty of it is that I primarily just stand and watch.  On Brenna’s night last week she wanted broccoli, cheese, and chicken calzones– so she measured and stirred and taught her little helper how to make sure there isn’t any dry flour left in the bowl.  And with the dough left over after all her little pockets were stuffed with veggies, cheese, and chicken she put her braiding skills to work and made this:

I’m really enjoying day-dreaming about the implications of this routine we’ve got established.  I mean, by the time I have some kids in, say, the 11 or 12 year old range the number of late afternoons I’ll spend standing around the kitchen will be cut in half!  If they start chopping and boiling and baking when they’re 4, they’ll be totally independent in the kitchen maybe even by the time they’re 9 or 10!  I could get a promotion!  I could go from cook to managing supervisor– and maybe even by the time I have a teenage driver I could get promoted from grocery shopper to grocery list maker!  Oh, the visions in my head…

 But, for now we’re having fun.  The number of complaints about what is for dinner has decreased exponentially, my little chefs feel so very proud, and this mama is pretty proud too.