Humm ... if I remember right, the only apron I ever had to wear when I was a kid was flowered and had ruffles.
Some of the greatest times I remember with my sons was watching the cooking shows on PSB on Saturday afternoon - then going out to to the market to find something for supper. We had all kinds of fun going to the Asian market and buying things we had nothing to go by other than the picture on the can ... and then trying to make a meal out of it. They were always part of preparing meals ... and I'm sure that is why they were never picky eaters ... we discussed, shopped, prepped, and cooked together. By the time they were in Jr. High (guess that is called Middle School now) they could prepare an entire meal from whatever we had on hand (and I bought very few canned goods). When they were in High School they had a chance to take a vocational pogram and work in a restaurant - both wound up as head cook and kitchen managers ... when my oldest son moved up to night manager his younger brother moved up to take over the kitchen.
It doesn't take much to get kids involved - an upbeat attitude, talking with them about exploring new things (hey, let's get this and see what it taste like ...), spending time together, making them a part of the process - no matter how menial or simple the task ... if they help they will at least try it ... and usually eat it. Heck - when they were really young - I poured out a bottle of candy "sprinkles" onto a plate and had them seperate the colors - then we counted them ... to make sure we had the same number of each color. And geeze - how simple ... put some butter on some bread and let them sprinkle on some cinnamon and sugar to make their own toast for breakfast - and they will even eat cream-of-wheat if they get to stir it (even if it is already ready and the heat is turned off and they are just stirring in the butter and sugar).
I am fortunate to have just moved and now live across the street from 3 of my 5 grandkids (2 of my 4 grand-daughters and my 2-yo grandson) ... and I hope to repeat the process with them - when I can get enough unpacked to really cook again. But, to hedge the bet - I picked up the double DVD of
Ratatouille from WalMart that has a 2nd DVD of
FoodNetwork cooks doing cooking with kids ... now all I have to do is find the box with the DVD player ...
I love cooking with kids ....