Entertaining children while cooking

Soon there'll be that famous holiday madness when everyone of us spend a lot of time in the kitchen, because there are always some (un)announced guests.

And how to entertain kids during this time?

 Here are some of my ideas:

Magnets on the refrigerator

As you can see on the photos below, The Cars mania still lasts in our house, but there are other magnets as well. Both of my girls like to have fun in this way. The Older likes to create a story, while The Younger just takes them on and off, but half an hour of peace for me is "guaranteed."

Tunnel with balls

I have seen this idea in several versions on Pinterest . It is super simple, you'll only need a TP tube, little ball or a marble and some glue - I've used Patafix. Unfortunately, this is just not appropriate for younger children as they can swallow a marble and since they had no developed a sense of how hard they can push, they often break this toy. And Patafix attracts them to put it in their mouth. So this is definitely a toy 3 +.

If you have a bigger bouncing ball (like those from vending machines in shopping malls), then it is good to add some additional sticky tape because such balls are heavier, therefore, the rolls need additional security. 

The lower part of my kitchen wall is lined with a cork board, so we made this without any problems, but these can be pasted on a fridge or a window. I don't believe it would be held firmly enough on a plain wall, and there is a danger of damaging wall paint while removing the "installation".

  
P.S. I know these are lousy photos, but the light in my kitchen is so poor - I think I have a next DIY project for the hubby. :big grin:

A pinwheel in flower pots

A pinwheel must spend winter somewhere - a great place is the kitchen window, there it will always be warm for it. And the girls love to spin it, spin and spin until they are feeling dizzy. Or until a decorative flowerpot is broken. Therefore this activity is also recommended for bigger kids. I allowed the Younger to play with it, but soon the pinwheel itself (thankfully not the flower pots) was damaged before I managed to take some photos. It is this type of pinwheel, click here for a tutorial to make one.

Source: prittworld.com.hr

Involve them in cooking

 

 super tasty chocolate muffins are made in this way ...

This is definitely their favorite. A cute apron with a funny saying and here we go, ready for action. This is appropriate if you are not in a hurry and if you don't mind the mess. It can be a great opportunity to learn something new, and you can even make real scientific experiments.

My girls especially like when we use cookie molds, it reminds them of play dough. 

 

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