For this week's challenge I thought a lot about what I'd like the "lunchtable" in our our house to look like. Frankly for the last five very sleepy postpartum months I have wanted the lunchtable to be quiet and calm--I would hurry around anticipating J's declarations of hunger. I'd prepare lots of food, call him in, and then I'd enjoy a few minutes of relative quiet while we both stuffed our hungry faces. (Lovely image, isn't it?)
This week I decided to focus on a little education at lunchtime in two ways.
FIRST, lunchtime is a great time for J (age 4) to practice preparing food for himself and for others. Dinnertime is a little too harried for me to patiently tutor him in independent food preparation, but lunchtime works. Out of necessity we have to keep things really simple for now.
Here's a list of things he can do by himself with a supervising eye:
Quesadillas (two tortillas with pre-shredded cheddar cheese microwaved with a simple touch of the one-minute button)
Peanut butter sandwiches
Peel a hard-boiled egg
Wash finger veggies and fruit (cherry tomatoes, grapes)
Peel a banana
Serve a handfull of pretzels
Here's a list of things he can with a little help from me:
Scramble an egg
Prepare tuna for a sandwich
Warm up leftovers
Hopefully with what I can do beside him (cutting fruits and veggies, making a multi-step food item) he can feel good about making lunch together each day.
Second, I'm trying to focus our conversation at lunchtime on something other than "eat your food and don't make a mess." When he was very young, I'd telll him a story from the scriptures each week, the same one every day, until he could had it memorized--I could get back to that. Another idea I've had came from some brilliant Mom in Family Fun Magazine--several months ago I had a basic worldmap laminated at Staples--it serves as a sort of tablemat (a combo of placemat and tablecloth) that leads to all kinds of discussions. As of this week, J can point to New Jersey (where we live), California (where one Grandma lives) and Washington State (where another Grandma lives.) He can also point out Africa, North America, and South America.
I'd love your ideas on my goals and I look forward to reading yours!
11 comments:
My mom had laminated placemats with maps and other interesting things (pictures of extended family and friends, etc), when I was little. From a US one, I learned all my states and capitals! Great ideas, thanks!
I can't believe he's becoming so self-sufficient. He's so helpful!
Dinosaurs- check
Planets in the Solar System- check
Trains, airplanes, Jersey birds- check, check, check.
Geography...great idea!
His teachers are going to love you.
I can't believe I haven't thought of letting my oldest prepare/wash a few things on his own! What a fantastic idea! Duh! :)
Granted, leaving a step stool in the kitchen for him to reach the sink is going to be an issue with my 2 year old - he'll get into lots! Maybe, though, I can start teaching him too.
Thanks for a great idea. I love how these blogs allow us to share simple ideas that we "should" already know, but life seems to get in the way sometimes and remove the obvious, doesn't it? LOL!
Nice to meet you! I guess I'll be seeing you over at Unplug Your Kids, too? We've really enjoyed our unplugged projects!
All of your ideas are seriously awesome. My 5 year old has been asking me for boiled eggs on occasion this last week, but because I don't like them myself, I keep forgetting. I know what I'm making him tomorrow for lunch! And I love the world map being laminated. I don't even know where I can buy a map of the world, but I'm going to look tomorrow!
I love your ideas! My sister in law did this to her TV. She made a cover for it our of black felt(nothing fancy just 4 pieces sewn together) and cut out of felt a clock when she was teaching about time, a sun and a moon when teaching about day and night. You get the picture, sometimes it stayed just plain black. She says it help a lot with the TV watching. I just hope Elena doesn't figure out that "Super Why" is a TV show and not a movie. She always turns the TV off after a movie because she doesn't like the credits.
Oh I better stop now.
All I can say is ... wow, I admire you! You are a much better person/mother than me! Great ideas!
I forgot to ask you what exactly is a Pluot? I hadn't ever heard of them until I saw them at the grocery. I know it is a plum and something, but what?
First time looking at your blog. Don't know whether to laugh or cry. One of us is getting older....maybe both? I feel ancient....you are where I was when you would come and babysit. Those faces of your children are beautiful. You are beautiful. Loved being reminded of who you are. Yours is a beautiful spirit. LOVED the laminated map idea, by the way. My kids had a stopwatch placed in front of them while I counted down the five minutes they had to eat before I made them take a nap. LOL.
You are the coolest mom ever. Could I come over and learn at lunchtime? Your kids are so lucky they got to come to you!!! Seriously - you're amazing.
I just give the kids a PB&J sandwich, sit them down in front of the TV, and tell them to shut up. What do you think I can do to take better advantage of this time? :)
I love that scripture story idea. It's one of those simple ideas that you wonder why you didn't think of it. But that's why there's amazing people like you! Maps are a great idea. I think that expanded my mind a lot as a kid, memorizing all the countries and playing games with my family to do with geography. I think the biggest thing we can do however is to let go of the guilt of not doing these things before. The guilt holds back progression.
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