Weapon-wielding Preschoolers

What tasks do you let your kids do in the kitchen?  I recently had a couple of assistants when I was making my favorite winter salad: this Cranberry Waldorf.

 See how focused she is?  She feels so proud to have a real job!

(How many of you are freaking out that I am letting my kids use actual knives?  Let me talk you through this.  What happens if they do slip?  They get a quarter-inch boo-boo that gives them a little more respect and focus for the next time they are working with something dangerous.  Don't get me wrong--I would never leave the room while they are armed.  I know what they are capable of.)

Even Jude (not yet 3) loves this.  It is cool because there is a TOOL, something SHARP and DANGEROUS.  Just right for a boy. 

 He loves being my helper too!  Look how proud he is of all his sliced grapes!

 "How did you ever get anything done before we came along, Mom?"

And voila!  A delicious Cranberry Waldorf salad (I make it without the yogurt, and I use deliciously-fresh pecans straight from Lubbock, TX instead of the walnuts).