You know, the chair mama sits in that most accessible to the kitchen so she can jump up to refill drinks, clear plates, or fulfill unexpected requests.
However, as a mother of four, I kinda like to sit and enjoy actually eating with my family. Therefore, I have enlisted the waitress. (oh, and they can learn something from this, too!)
If you have boys, "waiter" will do.
This is what we do:
The waitress is responsible for:
determining how many of each plate or utensil we need
finding them and setting them
filling water bottles, if needed
choosing appropriate serving utensils
assisting in either plating food or placing food on the table
willingly catering to reasonable requests
The pre-schooler can:
do most of these things with assistance
As they get older:
they can get more sophisticated and more creative with
The other children can:
practice requesting something
say please and thank-you
compliment the waitress
help out when she gets really busy
Ways we make this a little more fun:
place non-breakable plates in a cupboard that is easily accessible to the waitress
think color when presenting your table
brainstorm table themes
imagine you are at a real restaurant and role play
when you are at a real restaurant, observe some of the things the waiter/waitress does
Building character:
serving- which can be used in many areas of life
listening- and learning about what other individuals like at the table
creativity-even a very simple job can be exciting when we improve it
sacrifice- your time at the table or waiting a little longer to eat
positive attitude- is needed, whatever mood you are in
