Last week Katy shared about how she includes her young children in the kitchen. My children are a little bit older and it has been fun to watch their skills and interest improve in the kitchen. Here are some of the things all three of my children help with in the kitchen:

• Writing the grocery list for the week. This includes picking meals and snacks and checking the cupboards and refrigerator for what we already have on hand.
• Setting the table and cleaning up after meals. The cleaning up was hard to get started, but it is now part of our routine (with only a little complaining).
• Helping me make a meal. If they are around, I can usually convince them to come help me with putting together part of a meal.

My two oldest children are 11 and 14 years old. I have been encouraging them to take over some responsibilities in the kitchen because I want them to be able to cook for themselves someday. Here are some of the things we have been working on:

Learning how to safely use a knife. If you would like to learn more about this, check out one of our newest videos:

• Knife Safety in the Kitchen
• How to Cut a Potato
• How to Cut an Onion

Making a simple recipe when I am not around. A couple of these recipes are:

• Berry Banana Popsicles
• Pizza Boats

Making a more complex recipe when I am nearby. A couple of these recipes are:

• Banana Oatmeal Bread
• Fish and Noodle Skillet

Learning from mistakes. Sometimes foods get under cooked or overcooked or they do not look like the recipe in the picture. This is ok! Making mistakes helps us learn how to make the food better next time.

In the early years, including my children in the kitchen was harder because it was extra work and extra clean up. Now that work has started to pay off because they are becoming more independent in the kitchen and are proud of what they create.