On stocking the play kitchen...

I love having something for N to do in all the rooms of the house. Whether it's the bathroom or the kitchen or his playroom, if we're going to be in there for even the briefest period, it helps a lot if he has something to look forward to there. And we spend a lot of time in the kitchen! So N's kitchen area really matters. Our DIY play stove was a great beginning, but the way we've figured out to stock it has really helped keep the area fun.

There sure are a lot of baby kitchen products out there. Miniature pots and pans, mixing bowls, spoons, popcorn cartons, tin cans, ice cream cones, and everything else you can imagine. Even plastic baguettes and matzoh. If it exists in the adult world, it exists in tiny plastic imitation. But the thing is, N likes the real thing. He likes our raisin containers, milk jugs, parmesan tupperwares, Mac-n-Cheese boxes and Fuji water bottles. He likes our sauce pans, butter boxes and measuring cups. He likes the cream of tartar. He LOVES the sprinkles.

And the thing is, we already have all those things.

I get excited now when we are about to finish a plastic syrup bottle or a peanut butter jar. It could be said that I stalk that last bit of baking powder and final brick of baking chocolate, just waiting for them to disappear so I can add the container to N's pantry. We have a small set of realistic foods (tomato, banana, cheese, etc.) from Lakeshore Learning and a few food-themed coasters to complete the set, but mainly our kitchen play area was free, and we probably play with it more than anything else in the house.

In seventeen months, we've never had to put child locks on any of the other cupboards. As soon as he opens another door, I just ask him if he will please close it and if he wants his cupboard opened. Voila. Play ensues. We make cinnamon raisin broccoli oatmeal or peanut butter sprinkles eggs. You never know what will go in, but I help to stir and take enthusiastic tastes of all of our dishes. If play appears to be petering out, I head for the cupboard and invite further exploration.

"Do you think it needs some gatorade powder? Maybe some soy milk?" Generally my invitation is accepted, and the cooking goes on. It is elaborate and imaginative and I love to participate.

Creating an Outdoor Space for Play

Before I had N I had never heard of loose parts play, sensory play, stump circles or water tables. I didn't know you could make your own tree blocks, create playgrounds out of rocks and logs, create outdoor kitchens and make your own sandbox with little or no experience building. 

Then my son learned to walk but still only had a four minute attention span for his toys, and I found myself wondering, what will we do? What kind of space can I create so that my son will be happy and safe at home for at least some hours of every day? 

So I began to read during naptime. I checked out what Modern Parents Messy Kids had to say on the subject. I perused the thoughts of Teacher Tom. I hopped into the wide world of Pinterest and pinned photos of inspiring backyards onto my board. 

Then I found some stumps and lucked into some big rocks. I made a path for N to climb on across the yard with some of the rocks and stumps and scattered some stumps around as tables. I built two water tables. I built Ana White's Fold-Out Bench Sandbox and it was just not that hard. I scattered some buckets and shovels around. I made some tree blocks like Counting Coconuts. 

Now we play in the backyard every day. Pouring water, stacking blocks, making potions, seeing if this and that will float or sink. And when other kids come over, look out. It's a wild ride. Today we had four one and a half year olds out there and it was wet and sandy and great. 

The Nature Box

Nature. It's hard to beat. N and I are lucky to have a lot of natural spaces to play in - wonderful nearby parks, a great outdoor garden at our local children's museum, the lake at our cabin. But there are rainy days. And really cold days. And days when we need something awesome to do just before lunch.

Enter, our nature box. Right now it has a big shell, some coral (N's favorite, by far), a sawed out section of our Christmas tree, a coconut shell, different colored rocks, and a tile washed up on the beach in Mexico.

N likes to touch each one, carry them on little laps around the living room, and sometimes stack them together. I showed him how to hide items under the coconut shell and the big shell, and he returns to this fairly often.

There is something about this box. N is always interested. And it's fun to be on the lookout for the next addition - a great piece of driftwood, a big pinecone, a seed pod. We've only played with our current box for a week or so, but I plan to keep the contents shifting.