I am so excited to write about Mazen’s latest camp experience! Remember last summer when I wrote that a friend of mine told me about Supper Club Camp? Her son had spent a week learning to prepare healthy meals and came home with dinner for the family each night. I knew this would be such a fun opportunity for Mazen, and I signed him up for two different enrichment days over the Christmas break. The first day was all about the holidays, and they made a variety of Christmas cookies and ornaments. And the second day was a one-day version of Supper Club Camp. Mazen came home with a delicious dinner!
I will let him tell you what he made:
He was SO proud of his dinner, and we had so much fun together setting the table and getting everything ready to eat.
The vegetarian chili was delicious, and I loved the honey butter on the cornbread! (I put cubes of cheese on mine because I was out of shredded cheese : ) )
And best of all? He actually ate the chili! It was funny to watch him because he had been saying how much he “loved soup” even though I’ve never been able to get him to try it before. When we sat down I started eating and raving about how good it was and he hesitated and just looked at the soup for a minute. Then he cautiously dipped in his spoon, and took a slurp. He needed a little encouragement to continue eating the chunky parts, but he ate about half of his bowl overall. ‘Tis totally true for us that the more involved he is in the kitchen the more likely he is to eat something. He and Matt cook together almost every night, and I am working on ways to get him more involved in my house too.
I loved the chocolate shortbread cookies for dessert. (He says they are peanut butter in the video because he and Matt put peanut butter on cookies the night before.)
Miss Rita and Miss Christina, the mother-daughter duo who run the camp, are amazing and they said Mazen did a great job participating (and had excellent manners too!)
Cville friends, you can find out all the details for future enrichment days and camps on their website here. 2017 dates to come soon they say!
I think Mazen is already a better cook than me!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Mazen’s explanation of what he made was adorable! I was volunteering at my daughter’s school last week, and some kids made soup in cooking class to share with the rest of the school. She told me, “I can’t talk right now because they’re passing out soup and I need to get mine!” I love seeing kids involved in the process – if only because it might help them empathize when we’re struggling to get dinner on the table!
Cute!
He is toooooo cute in that vid, Kath.
Thanks!!
I am dying over his cuteness. My kid s are big, and seeing Mazen at 4 made me miss them at 4! *snifff, sniff*
<3
I love it! This is such a great idea and I think it’s so important to have kids (girls AND boys!!!!) help out in the kitchen so that they will have a greater sense of autonomy over their food choices in their teenage and adult years.
Btw Mazen is too cute. That’s it for all!
Haha thanks!!
So freaking adorable! Over the summer I taught a kids cooking class which was soooooo much fun! This reminds me of that!
That is amazing! I wonder if they have anything like that around me? Such a great idea!
He is so cute!! And what a great idea! I will have to look for something like this in the Nashville area for my kiddos!:)
You had cheese…why not just grate it?? Do you actually buy bags of grated cheese? Not very real food of you;)
It was a cheese stick leftover from Ava’s visit from Christmas. And yes, I buy blocks of cheese and grate myself because I think it tastes better, but there is nothing wrong with pre-grated cheese!
Grated cheese is coated in corn starch or cellulose (wood fiber!) or some other substance that keeps it from sticking together. It probably wouldn’t make a difference to put on top of soup, but it could have an effect on a recipe that calls for cheese as an ingredient.
yup, it’s a negligible amount and wouldn’t keep me from eating it, but I do think freshly grated tastes the best and melts the best like you say.
Such a cute camp idea! I love getting my kiddos (2 & 3 years old) involved in the kitchen. They’ll try so many more foods when they help make dinner! I’m curious if they were sensitive to food allergies at all at the camp? My son has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy, so I feel like something like this would be out of the question for him. I love the concept though!
I do believe they are nut free because we had to pack a nut-free lunch. I don’t know if you can request other family preferences like gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.
Oh that’s awesome! Thanks for the reply.
Crazy adorable!! More videos of him please. So fun to watch him growing up from day 1!
Hi Kath! Cute post and kid!
Have you found a good and safe stool for your son to use to help you at the kitchen counter? I’m hoping to get my 2 yo daughter more into helping prep meals. Thanks!
We just use a chair or his bathroom stool. He is old enough that I don’t feel the need for any kind of railings.
Such a cute video! “That’s not bread, Mommy.”
This makes me SO happy to see! It’s so important that kids learn what goes into their food, cooking, how to cook, etc. It always amazed me that we had to take bio and chem in school, but we didn’t learn anything about something we do 21+ times per week. Thanks for sharing! Mazen’s meal looks delish ; )
Does Mazen help you cook / prepare dinner and food at home? My big girl (4yo) just loves getting into the kitchen and she evens loves washing the dishes!
Yup! He’s getting more involved every day.
I would really recommend getting a Play Kitchen for Mazen. My little one loves hers and she always likes to ‘cook’ while i’m preparing dinner. I can give her little prep jobs to help me or she just role plays with her pots and pants! Perfect for both involving them in cooking and keeping them entertained when dealing with stoves/knives or cleaning up. https://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Super-Chef-Kitchen/dp/B001QXDIX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484214387&sr=8-2&keywords=little+tikes+kitchen
Such an adorable little boy!!! Love his voice! 🙂 amazing program for kids! They have such great programs for our kids these days..
I remember going away to college and the only thing I knew how to do was toast. And hot dogs. 😉
omg Kath I just saw this! SO cute! Mazen’s voice. adorable. He is a muffin! And so smart and i love his explanation of the cookies. haha. you gotta put peanut butter on em!! 😉
He looks so much like Matt when he talks. It cracks me up how he’s like a miniature teenager. You are such a great momma!
XOXO