Let them remove the husks and silks from corn on the cob. When preparing the chopped parsley for recipes, let them use kid-safe scissors to carefully snip the parsley into small pieces. They can learn good hand-eye coordination by breaking eggs into the mixing bowl for you. Let them rub the inside of the pot in which the noodles or pasta will be boiled with Crisco Oil. It will make the pan easy to clean.
Older children can help measure the ingredients for many recipes.
Give them a bowl and a set of measuring spoons and cups. If you're preparing asparagus, let the kids break the tips. If you're preparing gelatin with banana slices, let them carefully slice the banana.