Let your child help turn an ordinary meal into something special. Here's an idea for leftover night or when your child invites a friend over for a meal.

Materials:

• Menus made on paper
• Pad and pencil
• Chef hat, apron or napkin for over a child's arm
• Tray
• Play money or pretend credit cards

Directions:

Decide what food to serve, then work with the children to write the menus. If you have a young child, you'll probably have to do the writing, or your child can draw pictures for the different foods.

Talk with the children about jobs in the restaurant. Ask them to choose a position. Someone might have to double up on duties, just like in some real restaurants. The positions can be:

• Waiter/waitress (hand out menus, take food orders)
• Busboy/girl (set the table, clear the table after the meal)
• Chef (cook/prepare food)
• Cashier (take money, make change)

While you're giving the children a fun way to be involved with getting the meal ready and cleaning up, you're also giving them the opportunity to try different roles and see things from a different perspective.

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