My kids picked up on a very cute idea the other day.  They overheard older children talking about the family restaurant and they decided that they needed to create one too.  What, you might ask, is a family restaurant?  Well, it's actually a really cute idea.  Each night, a different child in the house gets to create the menu, shop for the food, and cook the dinner that the family will have.  Ok - so maybe you want to do it once a week instead of each night, but you get the idea.  It's a lovely way for children to take responsibility in the family and to make something that everyone can enjoy.  For beginning readers, it's also a great way to practice their reading skills as they look through cookbooks and choose products in the store.  Now, obviously, younger children will need your help to put everything together.  Older children, however, can really do much of this themselves.  They can create real menus to distribute to the family and can be in charge of cooking the food.

The food for a restaurant can be extremely simple or more ornate.  For instance, a five and seven year old might team up to create sandwiches.  They can buy tuna, cream cheese, peanut butter and cheese and give everyone a choice of which type of sandwich they'd like.  Instead, they might make pizza and offer a variety of toppings from which to choose. Whatever the food is, family restaurant night is a great idea to involve the kids in the family process and to make it fun for them as well!  Bon Appetite!