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Homeschooling in the Kitchen

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kitchen stove by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-SphereI love taking kitchen opportunities to homeschool since a lot of what we do as house chefs requires Math and Science. Even the simplest microwave Mac n’ Cheese can be an educational experience for the children.

My daughter, Gina, began helping with the dishes when she was just 2 years old. It took a bit longer for me to get the kitchen done, but slowing down so I could train her was well worth it. I moved all the plastic dishes, cups, and the silverware down into a lower cabinet so she could learn how to organize. By the time she was 3 years old she was emptying the dishwasher on her own. I used that opportunity to teach her color coordinating, stacking, separating, matching, and quality control. Be sure to show little ones how to make sure the dishes actually came out clean, this teaches them to be observant.

Once I felt my children were old enough to begin using the stove (around age 9), I could teach them to cook. There’s a lot of safety measures that they needed to learn before they could cook alone, but as long as I was right there with them it’s great training. Working in the kitchen teaches them to be alert and aware of their surroundings. After cooking something on the stove, it will still be hot for a while and you won’t want to set a plastic plate on the recently turned off burner.

I’m not against teaching a child to clean, but I do believe that when they learn to cook they also need to do their part in the cleaning. Making sure the pans are cooled is a huge lesson that needs to be taught early on in their cooking lessons. I always teach them to wash the pans last. This also gives the stove time to cool down before they wipe it down at the end of the night.

We use a check list for closing the kitchen down at night. This check list is taped to the inside of one of the cabinets. Once the kitchen is closed the light goes off and we stay out until the next day. Even if my children grow up to be full time employees or corporate CEOs, I want them to know how to cook and clean. Marrying someone whose cooking skills don’t surpass that of putting a ‘take n bake’ pizza in the oven or making toast can become quite daunting as the other spouse ends up being the only house chef.

Our family enjoys cooking together and the fellowship over preparing a meal and dining together has become a tradition for us. When everyone pitches in, it makes life so much easier. So while it takes time and diligence to teach children to cook and clean it is well worth the time and you’ll be making great memories for the family.

great room morning by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photos by Sisterlisa at Pix-O-Sphere}

This article is participating in Sprittibee’s Flag Theme Homeschool Carnival.

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