How toddlers can help with dinner

Hooray! Photo uploads are working again! I promise to work on New Zealand posts this weekend.

In the meantime, here's a Matthew moment....

He can stir the soup after the burner is turned off :-)

Matthew came downstairs and wanted to help with dinner yesterday evening. Unfortunately, everything he wanted to help with was either sharp (chopping onions with a knife), or else he wasn't strong enough to accomplish much (grating cheese).

Then, I remembered something Joseph likes to do. "Matthew would you like to slice the olives?"

"Yes!"

Out came the egg slicer and an open can of black olives, along with a bowl for the finished product. I demonstrated with one olive.



Matthew took a turn, then said, "It's your turn." I thought it might be my turn for the rest of the olives, but I offered him another turn, which he took.

He then continued slicing. After a few minutes, I asked him, "Are you having fun?" "Yes," he replied.

A few minutes later, he informed me, "Mommy, I'm still having fun."

He repeated this information every couple of minutes until the entire can of olives was sliced.



Then he happily left the kitchen, having helped, and not been under foot (really he's usually under arm, as he tends to put the step stool right in front of me where I'm working and climb up between me and the counter or sink so he can see what I'm doing).