Our family likes to indulge in a meal at a restaurant from time to time. With each opportunity that we go out to eat, my children are in absolute awe over the entire process. From reading the menu to receiving food (without even seeing the kitchen!), the whole process is a magical experience.
My 7-year old asked me how she could work in a restaurant one day, and since she's quite a few years away from getting a work permit, we thought we'd start by giving her some firsthand experience by setting up a mock restaurant in our own home.
The Setup:
- Pick a theme ~ My daughter wanted to serve an assortment of rainbow-colored foods, so we aptly named our restaurant: The Rainbow Cafe.
- Choose a menu ~ To focus on the serving aspect of the restaurant, our family opted for a simple meal of delivery pizza, homemade salad, and a frozen dessert. We then designed our own menu to include a few choices for our guests.
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- Set the scene ~ Coloring pages are common in many restaurants so we designed our own to fit the theme. We used free puzzle designer websites to create a custom word search and crossword puzzle and added them to a legal size (11x17") sheet of paper to double as a placemat. A faux flower centerpiece and color-coordinating napkins and plates rounded out the look.
The Big Night:
Our meal commenced just as it would in any restaurant, but it wouldn't have been possible without some thoughtful preparation. Here's what helped us ensure a successful evening with our 7-year old waitress:
- The table was preset with silverware, placemats, & coloring utensils.
- Glasses were pre-filled with ice and chilled in the fridge.
- Paper plates & napkins gave us peace of mind as our daughter tried juggled multiple plates at once. Plus, it enabled easy cleanup!
- A notepad was used to jot down orders.
- Menu items were labeled with prices so that our daughter could independently determine each guest's bill at the end of the meal. We kept things simple by assigning items $0.05 and $0.10 each. And yes, she got to keep her earnings!
I had no idea just how successful this would be in encouraging our children to help out in the kitchen. By the time we had finished cleaning up our meal, both of the kids had already made big plans for their next in-home restaurant. Looks like this will be a regular event at our house, and maybe, if we're lucky, one day they'll even cook the meals themselves!
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