Self Serving at Meal Time

Once upon a time I worked in a daycare. Now while daycare setting wasn't my particular scene, I did learn a lot while I was there. One of the things that we did at the daycare was to let the kids serve themselves lunch! I worked with a group of 3 to 4 year old kids, so certain days i was very irritated by this self serving philosophy (i.e. “It's okay that you missed your plate with the applesauce Charlie, grab that scoop and try one more time, third times a charm..ill clean up...”!). But self serving does have purpose! Helps get those fine motor skills on! For younger kids like “mine” it's an early measuring skill lesson. Most importantly for me I feel like if they are involved  serving themselves they are more likely to eat! I don’t let the kids serve themselves at every meal like I really should, but there are some meals I definitely do.
Here’s some advice for letting kids serve themselves.
*Have enough things out to pass around the table.
 - I usually have at least 3 or four things so everyone can have something at 1 time.
* Have appropriate serving utensils
  - I use giant spoons that they have at the house.. but 1/4c measuring cups work  well too
*Keep a close eye....

Speaking of keeping a close eye! Are these pictures hilarious?!  Kona, the 2 year old was the first one to the table this dinner night and I left all of the stuff on the table for self serving. I had to go gather up the other two kids and when I came back... that is what i found!  I said “Wow that's a lot of peas!” and he said “That because I wike peas!” Ok then! The other kids thought it was funny how many peas he had on his plate too! But notice he is eating them!
Hope this is encouraging and helps! :)
 Post your questions, comments, or advice! Thanks!!!!
-Phylicia