Field plans for dadsOne page per plan · Friday letter

Home / Start here / Print pack

Your print pack

1 field card, one per page: Kids cook one Thanksgiving dish, start to finish.

Back to Start here

One card per US Letter page. No printer? Choose Save as PDF in the print screen.

Dad Field Manual · Field card 184 · Cooking

Kids cook one Thanksgiving dish, start to finish

One dish on the Thanksgiving table is theirs: they pick it, shop for it, prep it, cook it with you and tell the family they made it.

Time
2 hours
Cost
About $10
Ages
3 to 12
Where
Kitchen and the grocery store

What you need

  • A recipe you've read through, for a side or dessert (no raw meat)
  • Ingredients on a short shopping list
  • Oven mitts and a step stool at the counter
  • Soap, a clean towel and an apron or old shirt
  • Index card and marker for a "Made by" name card

Before you start

  • Wash hands first and often. CDC says wash for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before, during and after preparing food, and after handling raw meat, poultry, flour or eggs.
  • Dad runs the stove and oven. AAP says always supervise kids when they cook, teach them to use oven mitts, and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove.
  • Match the job to the kid. AAP says to know your child's abilities and stage of development: a 4-year-old may be able to rinse fruit or tear leaves, but not sauté over a hot pan.
  • Put leftovers away. CDC says never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's above 90°F, and keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below.

Steps

  1. Pick the dish. Show three recipes you've read, and let your kid pick the one dish that is theirs. 10 min.
  2. Shop for it. Your kid reads the list, finds each item and checks it off at the store. 30 min.
  3. Wash up and set out. On the day, wash hands for 20 seconds, apron on, ingredients and tools out in order. 10 min.
  4. Prep it. Your kid rinses, measures, pours, stirs and mashes; you cut and handle anything hot. 30 min.
  5. Cook it with Dad. You run the stove or oven in mitts while your kid writes a "Made by" name card. 30 min.
  6. Serve it and tell the table. You carry the hot dish; your kid sets down the name card and says they made it. 10 min.

If it stalls

  • If your kid wants a fancier dish than you can manage, keep the pick and simplify the recipe.
  • If it comes out lumpy, burnt on the edges or flat, serve it anyway and let them say what they'd change next year.
Our dish
What we'd change
Our dish: the ingredients, who did which job, and what we said at the table
Made by Signed by Date