Cantaloupe.... who would have thought?

There has been a Practical Life explosion in our house the last few weeks. L seems to be at the point where she wants to help with everything, especially preparing food.
One thing we've been doing quite a lot is cutting up and eating cantaloupe. As we were sitting down to eat it one day I got to thinking how many skills L is refining with the whole process so I decided to make a list...

• getting her apron out of the drawer and washing her hands
• after I've sliced the cantaloupe into cutable pieces and taken off the rind L cuts the long bits into small pieces practicing her cutting skills now with a relatively sharp knife
• sorting the pieces of cantaloupe and the rind into separate bowls
• putting the bowl of rinds into the compost, learning about recycling and composting
• putting the bowl of cantaloupe onto the table
• washing down the counter with a cloth and washing her hands again
• taking off her apron and putting it back into the drawer
• setting the table for a snack
• dishing out pieces of cantaloupe using a serving spoon into her bowl(not as easy as it sounds those things are slippery!)
• eating the yummy fruit and having wonderful conversation with her family
• clearing the table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher
• wiping down the table

Whew sounds like a lot when you write it all down! It's quite amazing really how a fruit can be do delicious and such a learning tool at the same time.