So the school holidays are here, and it looks like its going to be pretty cold around the country, which means A.Kids are wrecking the house B. Kids are getting cabin fever C. Mum is going crazy as f@ck trying to suss out something to do that doesn't involve messing the house up even more.
I remember growing up and we grew up on a dairy farm, mum used to dread bad weather, generally we would be outside picking on our younger brother, playing in the trees, helping on the farm, building huts made of hay, helping with calving, practicing netball shooting or at Nanas when the weather was fine. Dad would tap the weather vain and tell mum that the weather was going to turn to shit and you could see the devastated look on mums face, totally gutted. (probably worse that the farmer that is never happy with the weather).
Generally my brother's were made to go help dad and my sister and I were generally left at home to help mum cook the meals, I have to say that if it wasn't for the helping of cooking I wouldn't have half the knowledge I have today, we used to make a lot of bacon and egg pies, pizza, quiche, roasts, stews, casseroles, potato bakes, lasagne, anything with mince, soups, home made spaghetti, apple crumble, apple pies, jam tartlets, scones, baking, baking, baking.
So thinking about this it makes me wonder why have our kids/teenagers have no clues when it comes cooking or preparing things in general. It makes me worried that we have this generation that are completely clueless when it comes to making things from scratch, that mum and dad, and nana are working and are not able to teach our kids how to make simple things like a cheese sauce to poor over broccoli or baked potatoes, a simple roast, pasta, hamburgers.
Little kids love helping in the kitchen, my 4 year old asks every night if she can help with dinner, she peels/chops/grates carrots, zucchini, mushrooms. She pretty much makes the cheese sauce (we make it from scratch in the microwave), she is very hands on and absolutely loves it. Yes it can get messy but its not the tornado of toys and books and puzzles that get thrown all over the floor. She also gets to help with baking cakes, muffins, pancakes, biscuits and its a great time to teach her about kitchen safety as well.
I would estimate if you do a couple of hours prepping meals, baking, cooking with your kids during the holidays, you could full your freezer with pre made meals/snacks that would make meal times during the rest of the year a lot easier. Your kids would learn some fantastic life skills and the mess would be predominantly confined to the kitchen.
Teaching your kids to cook the basics are so important, the basics can lead to zillions of dishes and before you know it the little monkeys will making you breakfast in bed.
Use the shit weather wisely, and also teach them to clean up afterwards while you drink wine.