Sharp Knives + Children = Life Skills and Confidence
Sarah Allen • September 21, 2017
When is the right age to allow your child to use 'proper' tools? I think, maybe, I've been super cautious about this. My children are 9 and 7 and only started chopping vegetables with kitchen knives last year! They did chop mushrooms with plastic knives as toddlers; I remember them sat in their highchair with mushrooms rolling around being cut into chunks for tea (I even remember feeling relieved to be getting some help!). They then moved on to cutting veg up with table knives when they were a bit older.
I think a career in education and early years settings where everything required a written risk assessment has made me look at activities with worried eyes. However, recently the (maybe obvious) realisation has come to me that if children are not given the right tools for the job they can not complete the task properly so therefore may struggle and give up. An adult sized tool may be too big and difficult to manipulate, maybe like an adult trying to knock a nail into a piece of wood using a croquet mallet! Or it could be really frustrating for a child to use a blunt knife that you or I would struggle to cut anything with. Then there are those 'toddler safe' plastic scissors which are almost impossible to use to cut paper! If you have any of those I recommend you put them in with the play dough instead where they actually work.
For his last birthday, I bought my nephew proper child-size workshop tools(this is not an affiliated link, I just think these tools are great) which he can use to make things for himself out of wood or help around the house. One of my children loves to bake and recent presents have been biscuit cutters and a palette knife which were received enthusiastically. My other child enjoys a bit of gardening, using secateurs to cut back our overgrown garden (this is a never ending task, mostly because no one else seems to enjoy doing it!). In the photo my children are helping cut up beans. They loved it! It was great to see their sense of accomplishment and it was brilliant they were able to complete one of the jobs that needed doing. We had a glut of beans from the allotment which have now been chopped and frozen and hopefully this might encourage the children to actually eat them when they are cooked! I think it's a win, win! The children are engaged in learning skills and jobs get spread out amongst the family members. This approach could be rolled out more in schools. Often children have jobs such as taking the register to the office or sharpening pencils and generally they love this responsibility. However, maybe this could be extended to include tasks such as painting a classroom wall, maintaining the school grounds, helping to fix a broken bench etc.
What do you think?
What do you think?
What can we learn from the autumn equinox? Well, for me, it's all about a pause and some balance. As the Earth pauses in this moment of neither more or less light, I find it nourishing to take a moment too. Life will want to keep propelling you forward - or, I should say, the capitalist society. But there's a benefit in the pause, to stop the momentum, to stop the always doing and to reflect a little (or a lot). So, I took some moments today to sit in the early morning light, when the sun was not fully out but it wasn't dark, to do nothing other than sit (and drink coffee). Later on in the day, I dusted off my journal and took a moment to reflect on what I'd achieved, especially in relation to the intentions I set in motion in February, at Imbolc. Some I'd forgotten, others I'd chosen to let go, others I'd achieved. They weren't fully measurable, a life goal or something on a bucket list; just simple intentions like being creative and making decisions based on keeping my nervous system soothed. Writing this down, I found, to be positive. It's easy for me to think I've done nothing, life is still the same as it was but this isn't true. Once again, life has thrown big challenges my way. Things have not all been as I hoped but I'm not in the same place as I was. I wrote down what I am thankful for. Gratitude is often mentioned as a great well-being tool but I mention it with caution ⚠ as, for me, it has sometimes been a trigger to stress and anxiety around what high stakes things (and people) I could lose. Finally, I journaled around what I wanted to cut back. Then I literally went into the garden and cut back the dead wood thinking, to start with of what I wanted to metaphorically let go of, until it become a mindful task of just pruning and being with nature. It was not without it's difficulties, as I got caught in the brambles and also had to decide how much and how far to go. I left plenty of dead wood in the garden, the insects will need it to overwinter. There's only so much pruning you can, or maybe, should do. Some of the dead wood must remain to be composted later. I focused on what was most beneficial to cut back on, what would give the most room for new growth. Though, it now leaves bare patches, once spring comes round it provides room for growth. I also had to trim back some of the new growth that was damaging fences. We are led to believe that growth is the aim, at any cost, which of course is destabilising our planet both the climate and the delicate balance of the web of life . If the collective human species were to pause and focus on balance we could create a very different, regenerative way of being in the world. I invite you to try it and see how it changes things.
Snow, Wind, Rain, the Northern Lights, Some Comforting Food and Time To Create
Showing someone you love them shouldn’t cost the Earth! If you want to give traditional cards and gifts, how about considering some of these more sustainable ideas? 1. Valentine’s Card Probably the easiest tip is to make sure the card you buy does not come packaged in plastic film. Shop around if you need to but think about the packaging as well as the sentiment when choosing your card. I have the perfect option to show love both to your special person and our precious planet with my new 'Love Me, Love Our Planet' card . Shipped in sustainable, eco-friendly paper packaging which is rip-proof and splash-proof and designed with the environment in mind. Alternatively, of course, you could make your own card. This is a great option for ensuring the card is more personal and especially good for the environment if you use materials you already have at home.
Reusing decorations, enjoying the season and creating less waste.
