Bread: The child can help in the kneading of bread and rolls. He will like a chunk to roll out and pound and bake in his own miniature pan.

Pie: In this case, children must have their own piece of dough to work with and have nothing to do with the crust you are serving for dessert

Vegetables: Children can use vegetable scrapers very well in peeling carrots or potatoes. They like to shell peas especially well, and can snip the ends off beans with scissors.

Meatballs: It is great fun for the child to start with a bowl of ground meat and mix an egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper and onion with both hands. They will find making porcupines (rolling the meatballs in uncooked rice) even more entertaining.

Food grinders: Most foods are too difficult for children to grind. But making bread crumbs out of dried bread is fun and easy.

Instant puddings: Two cups of milk added to the powdered mix can be stirred with a spoon or shaken in a plastic container with a tight lid.

Box mixes: Corn bread is particularly successful because it requires very little mixing.

Refrigerator cookies: A cheese cutter is a good aid in making uniform slices.

Cracking and shelling walnuts: Several thicknesses of newspaper on the floor and a tack or claw hammer is standard equipment This is a kitchen job that is very popular with preschoolers. If you can't keep up with the supply, let them give Grandmother a jar of shelled nuts for Christmas.

Special Goodies

a. Marshmallows, and gumdrops stuck into an apple with toothpicks, make dolls, animals, or just pretty designs.

b. They can stuff prunes and dates with nuts and roll in powdered sugar.

c. Decorate cookies with nuts, colored sugar, raisins or chocolate drops.

d. Spread chocolate frosting on graham crackers.

e. Cupcakes are more fun if they have surprises in the middle of them. Good surprises are a maraschino cherry or half a walnut