Skip to main content

Playing in the Kitchen



Henry spends a lot of time in the kitchen. Since he really can’t help with the cooking yet, I find other ways to keep him occupied while I prepare our meals. We sing and talk and dance, but sometimes I need a few minutes to focus on the task at hand, especially when I am chopping vegetables or working with a hot oven.

There’s no need to spend a lot of money to keep your little one entertained in the kitchen. You can use many basic items that you already have on hand. 

Here are five of Henry’s favorite kitchen toys:
1.   Things with handles. You may know that one of Henry’s first toys were baby spoons. Now he loves batting around rubber spatulas, wooden spoons and pastry brushes.
Henry plays with mixing spoons and spatulas.
2.   Empty cardboard containers. Henry’s favorites include egg cartons and paper towel rolls.
Henry inspects the inside of an egg carton.
Henry checks out a paper towel roll.
3.   Metal measuring spoons and measuring cups. Henry thinks these make the best noise and he likes examining how the various sizes fit together.
Henry jingles a set of measuring spoons.
4.   Pots and pans. Henry particularly enjoys pie pans and foil baking pans. They are lighter and easier to pick up than full sized pots. They also make great noises when he bangs on them.
Henry is excited about this shiny metal pie pan.
5.   Mixing bowls and other containers. Henry is curious about all sizes and shapes of containers with and without lids. Place small containers inside larger containers for a variation on nesting / stacking cups. Alternatively, put various dry goods inside sealed Tupperware containers so that they make sounds when shaken. Pasta, rice, couscous and even a jingle bell help keep Henry’s attention.
Henry shakes a plastic container to make some noise.

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Katrina. I hope it gives you some inspiration for entertaining your little one.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest.  Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the

What is I-522?

Yesterday, I interviewed a mom who is concerned about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). She explained that there is no way to know whether the food you purchase may include GMOs unless it is certified organic. In Washington state, Initiative 522 would require labeling for foods produced through genetic engineering.  Providing consumers with information about the foods they eat seems like common sense. However, I-522 has already been met with controversy especially from the state's wheat growers . I wanted to hear from a local farm, so I asked Dan Hulse from Tahoma Farms for his thoughts on GMOs and I-522. Henry loves finding his favorite foods in our weekly produce delivery from Terra Organics. In 2003, Dan and his wife Kim formed Terra Organics an organic produce delivery service. They have been small family farmers since 2004. In 2009, the couple purchased a 40-acre farm in Orting, WA known as Tahoma Farms. The farm and Terra Organics sell organic produce locally