Kitchen time

Today for lunch, or I should say after lunch I just cooked dinner too. Just so I know there will be an option of a meal waiting at home that the kids can eat right away if they are hungry. Jonah always wants to get into my arms whenever I cook. Today I tried a different approach. I got a step ladder and gave him the type of butter knife with a serrated edge. In other words, he can cut something but he won't cut himself. I cut off a piece of carrot and some Chinese broccoli for him to cut up. Okay so I had to be careful he didn't reach for my knife, but I just kept him at a distance and made sure the knife stayed pit of his reach. He was having trouble at first, but then I showed him how to hold the carrot and cut it (left handed because that's what he is.) and that way after I was all done and washing dishes I was able to keep him out from under me. Why hadn't I done this before? I guess because Noah was satisfied with cooking in his toy kitchen, where as Jonah wants to be right there with me. I actually got him to tuck his fingers in by saying he has to hold the carrot with a Fu Jow. With carrots he can actually just eat that raw if needed, or he can cut up the scrappy part of a vegetable which would be composted anyway. Plus the real veggie is better than a toy veggie, and it's like an arts and crafts project all rolled into one. Of course I'm sure past generations always did this, and in a way, they would see our plastic toys as redundant and unnecessary. I mean, as cheap as they are, the kid could just actually do a version of the work you are doing.
But they like the toy versions too and get real excited about it. At least Noah did anyway.