Feb 21, 2013

Play Kitchen Project

Images: Baby Centre
Anytime Jaws is on TV (and I'm able to) - I must sit down and watch it.

With an incredible number of memorable scenes and quotes it's easy to understand why it's in most people's top 10 movie lists.

- The terrifying opening attack.
- The scar contest on the Orca - ‘Mary Ellen Moffit, she broke my heart’.
- The Indianapolis Speech.
- "Here's to swimming with bow-legged women".
- The zoom in/dolly out shot on Chief Brody at the beach.
- Mrs Kintner slapping Brody hard in the face.
- The chalkboard scratch.
- "We're going to need a bigger boat!".

The list could go on and on but there is one scene that will always stand out.

If DVD commentaries and movie websites are to be believed, the scene at the dinner table, between Chief Brody and his son, was improvised by Roy Scheider. Scheider noticed, in between takes, that the young boy who played his son was copying what he did. Calling Steven Spielberg's attention to it, they decided to roll the cameras and that scene became this rare moment of calm and warmth in a movie that, from all reports was a difficult film to make and gave the story and characters a grounding that most blockbusters these days would miss.

The reason I mention all this is because last night, as I was standing over the cooker making dinner, I looked over to see my 2 and a half year old son sitting on the floor with a large pot, a bag of potatoes and a wooden spoon - talking away to himself about making dinner....... and ketchup. It's an obvious thing to say that our children learn everything from us but the simple fact is, they do so by copying everything we do.

For toddlers, pretend play is a big part of growing up and understanding the world around them. I don't want to be the kind of parent who runs around, arms flailing, screaming 'Hot', 'Sharp', 'Carefull', 'Stop'.
I don't want my son to be afraid of things around the house, but instead, understand what they are and how they work.

It's only a matter of time before he moves on from his wooden spoon and bag of potatoes and decides Mammy and Daddies cooker look fun to play with.....so, maybe it's time for one of these.

Check out these 5 DIY play kitchens for toddlers and get inspired to maybe build your own.


Number 1
Images: Young House Love






Image: Young House Love
Over a Young House Love, Sherry and John turned an old kitchen cabinet into a one-of-a-kind play kitchen for their daughter. Check out their blog for a full tutorial.


Image: Young House Love



Number 2
Some crafty parents over at Narrating Life transformed an old TV stand into a cool retro play kitchen.
And they did it all for about $30.
Image: Narrating Life
Image: Narrating Life
Image: Narrating Life



Number 3
Images: Baby Andoo


 


If you like your Ikea hacks - then check out all the details of this one-of-a-kind Ikea play kitchen from Baby Andoo who adapted a simple piece of Ikea furniture.









Number 4
Images: The Farmers Nest
Here's a real trash to treasure idea from The Farmers Nest. Two old bedside lockers are transformed into an amazing play kitchen with a fresh coat of paint, some DIY store finds and lots of creativity. Check out the full tutorial here.















Number 5
This modern looking play kitchen from Small & Friendly is a somewhat labour intensive transformation but saying that, it actually looks better than my own kitchen. Which is kind of upsetting!

Images: Small & Friendly
It even has a mosaic tile back splash.
























Hopefully there are some ideas there to help inspire you to recycle or repurpose and old piece of furniture into a small play kitchen.

I think it's also important to note that the days of a play kitchen being a girls toy are pretty much long gone.

Recently Hasbro, the makers of the Easy-Bake Ovens, have come under pressure to change the way they market the toy as something exclusively for girls after a campaign by 13-year old McKenna Pope. Pope, was upset to find that there were no Easy-Bake Ovens marketed to boys, even though her 4-year old brother Gavyn Boscio had asked for one for Christmas. Now, it seems like the gender-neutral toy movement is spreading. Mattel, the world’s largest toy-maker, is introducing the Mega Bloks Barbie Build’n Style, the first Barbie construction set in the doll’s 50-year history.

Therefore, I know my son would be delighted, standing in front of his mini cooker, thinking he was making the best spaghetti bolognese in the world - just like Mammy or Daddy. And as for his Shepherd's Pie....he'd probably think it could win a prize.

Well, I know his Mother's would!
.

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