get kids to cook: weekly meal plan sheet

Kids are all home from school for who knows how long, so let’s get kids to cook this week, friends.

It’s a perfect time to get kids in the kitchen, planning and preparing meals, and helping with household chores.

Think about it: three meals a day, seven days a week, times [how many people in your family] = a lot of meal prep.

So let’s get kids cooking.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Get Kids to Cook — Weekly Meal Plan Sheet

This is super-simple, friends, but if kids have a little bit of control, they’re more inclined to help, right?

Here’s what I think could get those kids of ours–especially our older ones–to lend a hand in the kitchen: choice, autonomy, and recognition.

Easier said than done? Maybe.

But I’m hopeful.

Choice: Let your kids choose when they want to cook.

I love that the little sign-up sheet has blanks for lunch and dinner prep and then a final box for supplies needed.

That way, kids simply put their name in a box, search for recipes that might work, and then fill out the supplies they need in the last box.

Or, if you have only littles, then maybe you could work together on completing the week’s meal plan. Go through cookbooks together, make decisions, make plans, and see how it goes!

Do you want the Meal Plan Sheets?

Simply put your email in the box below, and the sheets will end up in your inbox!

Autonomy: Let your kids choose what they want to cook, and let them at it!

Pull out all of the cookbooks you have.

I grabbed a few at the library this week, but some of my all-time faves are:

The Best Kids Snacks Cookbook, by Laura Fuentes
The Ultimate Kids’ Cookbook, by Tiffany Dahle
Skinnytaste, Fast and Slow and Skinnytaste Cookbook, by Gina Homolka
Homemade With Love, by Jennifer Perillo
Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals
Good, Cheap Eats: Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less, by Jessica Fisher
Sandra Lee: Semi-Homemade 20 Minute Meals

Recognition: Let your kids shine in the glory of their completed meal.

No matter how it tastes, let your kids know how much you appreciate their help.

No one becomes a super-awesome chef without time, practice, and patience. And honestly? Cooking takes a lot of work.

So let that kid have the Special Plate for the meal he cooks, even if he’s a big kid.

Or let the star chef have the biggest cookie or piece of cake for dessert. It doesn’t matter.

Maybe have a special necklace or hat or pin or something that kids can wear, if you think they’ll dig that.

Want a few other ideas to get you through the Coronavirus break from school?

Check out a few other posts that may help you develop strong and healthy habits for your family:

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