Comments on: Who needs expensive, consumery entertainment…

By: julie

julie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:26:35 +0000

def true! i need to be more patient~

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:36:26 +0000

My daughter (13) loves to cook all kinds of things. I came home from work yesterday and she was making the finishing touches to a carrot cake for us all = took a piece to work for lunch today and it was delicious….. and she washes up all the utensils too!

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:27:16 +0000

We were in the drugstore yesterday and my son (8) stopped in front of a display with a kid baking set—cookie cutters, tiny spatula, apron, etc. He thought it was so cool. I was excited by the fact that he loves to bake with me—but the best part was, when I told him we’ve already got stuff that we can use instead of buying new stuff, he agreed with me and walked on by. Frugal training proceeding as planned!

By: Janet

Janet — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:59:07 +0000

Great pics! Reminds me of those wonderful times I propped my two daughters up on stools to help with the baking. Precious moments and as my mother used to say “You can always clean up later.” My daughters are now 28 and 25 and are fabulous cooks and bakers and I am so thankful I involved them in food production from a young age. Good on you!

By: BarbS

BarbS — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:20:31 +0000

Oh, so true, Kristen, so true! Last night we made your “overnight cinnamon twists” — now a family tradition for special occasions (my kids truly thank you) — and the kitchen was a complete mess! Bedtime was delayed as well. But boy oh boy did my daughter have fun, and the pride in her eyes as she ate cinnamon twists this morning, on her birthday, was unmistakable. Plus, she was extremely pleased that she could bring them into class this morning for “snack time” to celebrate with her classmates.

Since she’s asked for spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on her birthday, I thought I’d try the pull-apart garlic bread to go with it. I’m certain she’ll want to help with that too… oy! another kitchen mess! Definitely worth it.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:32:34 +0000

@WilliamB Oh dear. That would probably make MY brain hurt. lol And it might result in some food waste too. Although, even if you screw up some cookie ingredients, the end product is still usually edible.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:30:45 +0000

PS: you could have your kids increase the recipe by 2/3 and give ‘em a few homeschooling math points when they get it right.

By: Jennine

Jennine — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:05:55 +0000

What a great blog entry, and so true!!

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:56:59 +0000

Nice post, Kristen. I am so grateful for the happy memories of baking with my grandma. She taught me how to make my still-favorite cookie, she called them crinkle cookies. They’re a kind of chewy cinnamon molasses cookie.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:08:58 +0000

Kristen, think of it as an investment in the future, just as having your 3 yo clean up is. It takes longer now but they’re learning. Once they have it down, one more task you can delegate. Be warned: once they can reach the butter and sugar themselves, they may make a surprise for you.

One day I helped out at a nursery school. I was The Baker: since they read Blueberrys for Sal that day I brought everything thing the class needed to make blueberry scones. The 3 year olds were all very well behaved, waiting their turn to stir, sharing cookie cutters, not melting down when they realized the scones were for *afternoon* snack, not morning. I was very surprised when the scones tasted good, because they call for a light hand in the mixing and those kids were anything but!