Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thursday's Tip from the Green Housewife - Entertain Kids in the Kitchen

Welcome to my two new readers, Philip and banctecj. I hope you find many interesting and helpful things to read here! 


Last week I was visiting my sister Erica who has Adrenal Fatigue and has been having fainting spells. Her husband was out of town, and she has two little ones at home and a teenager in school, so she needed someone with her. She has three of the most adorable kids (not that I am biased), and they LOVE to help with the cooking and cleaning - I've really never seen anything like it! Julie, who is five, begged everyday to help me with the dishes, and Timmy who is two was always wanting to "Spray, spray" Murphy's Oil Soap on the wooden floors for mopping.  Erica is doing a great job raising them.
          They love, love, love to cook! I was helping my sister rescue some old beans that wouldn't cook right (I had read just recently that the American Test Kitchen says to soak them in salt over night to soften them, and then to rinse them very thoroughly before cooking them in the slow cooker the next day.) Julie especially was fascinated by the entire process. She helped me soak them, rinse them,  cook them in the crock pot, blend them in the blender, and finally add the seasonings (Timmy joined in on this process).
Here they are stirring.

                                                      The pink zebra is also helping

Timmy kept trying to eat the "choclat"
My sis makes gluten free chocolate cake from beans, which tastes truly amazing
But that is another post

                                                                Look at that mug!!

I feel like now I know one clue to how I will manage as a Mom - involve my kids in whatever I am doing, if they are interested. That way they will get the attention they need, and I will be able to get done the cooking and cleaning without feeling bad about not playing with them, and then we will have plenty of time left over to "play"!

What are your green or frugal tips for entertaining young children?

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like you all had fun and thank goodness you were there and able to help your sister.

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  2. Thanks Joyful - I had so much fun with my niece and nephew! And thanks for your prayers for my sister.

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  3. Welcome back! We raised a house full of boys and one thing we did was to give them a section of the back yard to do what they wanted. They dug out all the grass and made a racetrack with mountains and rivers and then used their toy trucks and cars and had great races. They would get filthy but it keep them busy for hours. I could keep an eye on them from the kitchen window. Good times.

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  4. I love that idea, Patti! I might steal it.

    PW - SO glad you made it back safe and had such a good time with your family. You're going to make an incredible parent if you've already figured out the involvement part of raising kids. They LOVE to be involved and at there young age, discovery is the best thing for them. Well done! I don't have any secrets other than exactly what you were doing. =)

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  5. Patti Bee - what a good idea about the backyard section for them! We used to have our own "garden" when we were kids - nothing grew but sunflowers, but we sure had fun trying

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  6. we all should have a pink zebra to help in the house! lol beautifl children and interesting post
    Rachel
    uk
    oh welcome back too

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  7. What a great post and how smart of you to involve the kids.

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  8. Switch on the TV or let them play DS. According to my sons journal thats the solution. Actually they love to be kicked outside into the garden, they just need some persuation. Love the pictures, cooking with chocolate is always a winner.

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  9. Rachel - I know! I need a pink zebra to help me at my house ;).

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