May 27, 2013::self sufficiency

One of my secret goals for the summer is to help the big kids be more self-sufficient. Embree does her own laundry and Reeves can...when he chooses, or is forced, to change clothes. They both can fix themselves simple meals and snacks, and I feel comfortable leaving them for several hours alone.

My goals are a little loftier.

I want them to be able to plan and prepare a meal of whole foods, including some cooking and baking. Doesn't have to be complicated, just nutritious, actually prepared instead of eaten raw from the fridge, and nothing from a box. I want them to learn knife skills and maybe bread making, though that lesson will be for me too.

I am thinking that they need to learn to do some basic sewing tasks, too. Nothing wrong with being able to sew on a button or mend a tear. I have a mending pile that needs some attention. Maybe we'll practice ironing a shirt as well.

I think, too, we will work on keeping a financial log. Even Brice could benefit from keeping track of his pennies now that he wants to spend them all on Legos. We will all benefit from a little more fiscal accountability.

My secret mission was off to a good start this morning. As I was in the kitchen working on preparing a pork loin for the crockpot, Reeves learned to slice a bit into cutlets and fry them in a sauté pan. He learned some knife skills, a bit about charcuterie, seasoning, and testing meat using a thermometer. He made breakfast, including the pork and scrambled eggs, for he and Todd. I had oatmeal, cause that's how I roll in the morning. Maybe his next lesson should be in steel cut oats.

I have homemade pizza crust on my agenda this week. If I can revive my dough tossing skills from my college years, maybe the kids will join me!

Namaste