The Children Get It: Passing Down our Beliefs to our Children

Pesach is now over, and we are now in the process of counting the Omer. My Pesach dishes have been put away and most things used put back into a storage container labeled with the feast's name with a black permanent marker. Much time and energy were invested in preparing for the feast to the last detail. New dishes were purchased which was a whole ordeal in itself, as I had to make several trips back to the store to get the right match and take back a set with a broken bowl. We changed our kitchen drapes to a gold and white combination for the special occasion, to go along with the table settings and tablecloths. Everything was beautiful and specially set apart for this occasion.

Although I do love to have beautifully table settings, this was not the main focus of this time. Our priority for all the prep was twofold. First of all, we wanted to make sure that all the chametz was destroyed and no trace of it left in our homes, in order to obey the command. To us this meant using separate dishes than the ones we normally use throughout the year in which we eat all manner of foods containing chametz. Next, we wanted to make it quite clear to our children of the importance of obeying the commandment and the special care and deliberate effort invested in this. When we begin our preparations, the children get the importance of the coming date. They remember all the detailed cleaning. They get why we will no longer be using our commonly used dishes for our daily meals. They get our diet for the next few days will be undergoing some major changes. Everything is different, and they get why. And if they are too young, it's an excellent opportunity for them to begin learning and storing up memories for future years.

This time becomes a time of anticipation. We actually look forward to this feast. Everyone enjoys eating the matzo bread, and the creative ways in which we adjust our daily meals. Using special dishes is also a constant reminder of the absence of chametz and its meaning. All the preparation and changes can be a good thing. It's a lesson and reminder of the biblical command to remove the leaven from our dwelling places. It's a blessing to obey HaShem's mitzvahs as a family. We see this feast not as a burden which is difficult to keep, but as a blessing that we may take part of in joyful obedience. As we finished our Seder and began picking up, we could hear our two-year-old singing in his sweetest baby voice the following chorus lines, "Dai, Da-ye-nu...Dai, Da-ye-nu...Dai, Da-ye-nu...Da-ye-nu, Da-ye-nu, Dayenu!" It was indeed a memorable feast.

Cooking Scarcely in a Large Family

This week I began cooking on more of a regular basis. What I mean by regular is actually daily. As strange as that may sound, for the mother of ten; I will proceed to explain how this has come to be the case around our home. Yes, of course we do have regular meals; although I'm not necessarily the one who prepares them.

The days when I used to cook daily are all a blur now. A faint memory is all that's left. Why and when did I stop cooking? The answer is quite simple really. As our family grew and our home education began to take on more of a formal approach, we began to teach the kids some basic cooking skills. With time they begin experimenting with new recipes. Mostly at the beginning, the cooking was along side mom or dad. But shortly after, the kids were allowed to cook on their own due to their progress in learning.

So many benefits stemmed from this first decision to teach them cooking. To begin with, working with recipe books proved to be an excellent way for learning fractions. All I recall, is one day asking my daughter how she had come up with the correct quantities for doubling or tripling the ingredients. She went on to explain to my amazement how she had added the fractions. She was at the time around six or seven I think. This was such a surprise to me, specially since I had not deliberately introduced her to fractions. Besides learning a necessary skill for life which is great in itself, another added benefit was teaching character; for in preparing meals for others, one also learns to serve. As if this all wasn't enough we had the added benefit of more help to get things done around the house, which is actually pretty terrific.

Cooking and baking has been a natural learning process around my home. My older kids I taught, naturally, However my younger ones mostly picked up this skills from their older siblings. I don't think a week passes by without the younger ones 8-12 baking some cookies, trying a new recipe, or preparing a dessert for Shabbat. I have then come to the conclusion through personal experience that work and education go hand in hand. What an advantage it has been to us, the freedom to teach at home with more of a hands on approach.

To conclude, I'd like to add that I'm proud to say the students have exceeded the teacher. The food the kids help make is always tasty and prepared with such creativity. I want to specially give credit to my two dear daughters. They do an excellent job. I'm glad to think that in this area at least they are preparing well to be future homemakers. And as for the boys, it's great that they can depend on themselves when necessary too. So now I'm off to start my new week preparing dinners, and as crazy as this may seem, I'll be asking for my daughters' input and opinions. It seems to me they have a much better idea when it comes to deciding on the quantities I'll be having to cook. =)