I love reading Lauren’s blog, and am
completely guilty of checking it 100 times more often than there is a new post,
so I was very excited to be asked to write this post! Its an honour to be here!
I thought I’d share with you my latest
creation… our mud kitchen, which my 18month old is LOVING! Outdoor kitchens are
lots of fun, great learning opportunities, good for team or individual play for
many ages and they’re pretty cheap and easy to put together. So I thought I’d
share mine and some tips etc to hopefully inspire you to start on one in your
backyard!
Let me take you on a tour...
Every kitchen needs spices and ingredients!
I decided to involve Miss E in the
process here instead of just surprising her with a beautifully finished
kitchen, and I think this really added to her enjoyment of the kitchen once it
was finished, as she discovered all the jars of treasures we had collected over
the weeks before.
Together we washed out jars and filled them
with all sorts of things. You can use anything as ingredients really, we
collected driftwood, sand, sawdust, black tea, many different types of nuts,
small rocks, shells, and I cut some wattle branches into little circular disks.
Other fresh ingredients can really add to the sensory experience of cooking – fresh
herbs, coloured water, real vegetables or fruits like lemons or whatever you
have an abundance of in your garden. Think about texture, colour, aroma, size
and try to collect a variety. If you have plants you don’t want picked often,
you will need to set very clear boundaries about what can and can’t be used in
the kitchen.
Another
favourite part of our kitchen was the oven and many many cakes and muffins have
been baked and checked on here already! Our oven is simply an old dresser with
the draws removed and some knobs attached. There are many fancier ovens out
there, but this one works quite well for us, and as she is only little, having
no door makes it very accessible with two hands full of muffin tray –especially
when that muffin tray has been ever so carefully loaded up with banksia nuts
and pinecones topped with grass cuttings and daisies. Below the oven shelf is
tray storage and above is a simple stove top because you have to have somewhere
to boil your kettle and use that frying pan!
Lots of hooks for hanging various utensils
are always fun, and while these are tricky for little hands, they’re great
practice! With littler people bigger hooks are better, make sure your hooks are
at an easy to access level –they may look better hanging on the back wall above
your sink etc, but won’t be very accessible at all if your chefs are small.
Don’t feel limited to just the back wall either, use the sides of your benches,
nearby trees, whatever takes your fancy!
Clearly
you HAVE to have a sink! But it can be as simple as a tub that sits on the
bench filled with water. Our sink is a sliding keyboard bench nailed onto two
draws standing on end with their handles removed. The sink is simply a mixing
bowl sunk into the bench. It pops in and out easily enough for refilling. Add
some dishwashing liquid and dish brush for a bit of extra washing up fun! I
hung a little curtain below the sink to allow for some extra hidden storage for
all those messy Tupperware style bowls and pots etc that kitchens seem to
collect which never stay tidy. It is also often used for storing stews that
aren’t finished the day before! The curtain is a scrap of raincoating, so it
stands up to the outdoors nicely. Miss E chose the apple fabric and I like the
fresh kitcheny feel they add.
Utensils and tools are also important as they help with imagination and the possibilities of what can be created. Our favourites are a big yellow ladle, a whisk, a muffin tray, frying pan and a teapot. Obviously you need some standard things too like spoons, trays, mixing bowls, jugs etc but its good to have a few exciting things too like an interesting shaped jelly mould perhaps, or an ice block tray. We went on a hunt at our local op shop together and managed to get all our kitchen tools for $5.50. Miss E had great fun choosing with me. Remember your kitchen is outdoors, so choose plastic and stainless steel over things that will rust or perish quickly. Ceramic isn’t the best idea with little people either.
Not only does an
outdoor kitchen help with fine motor skills, it develops imagination,
creativity and vocabulary. Use it as an opportunity to talk about many things
you would not usually discuss with your toddler, introduce new words, and as
they learn more, use more specialist words.
While water is
needed, it’s a lot of fun to transport the water in in buckets etc, however the
closer your dirt source is, the better. If you can’t set up your kitchen right
beside or IN your dirt source, make sure you have large buckets of dirt or sand
or both on hand. It is easy to bring in other ingredients like grass clippings,
leaves, blossoms etc as needed. And obviously the older the chefs, the less
direction they will need in collecting and bringing these ingredients into the
kitchen.
Miss E plays
quite independently in her kitchen, but it is also fun to join her and suggest
new ways she could use tools, or combine ingredients etc. However as your chefs
get older you will need to assess the role you play in their kitchen
activities, perhaps taking more of a silent observatory role as they become
capable of creating and imagining new possibilities on their own.
Making an outdoor
kitchen can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, and there is
plenty of inspiration out there on the web. It really matter how fancy it is
though, just get started and have fun making it and I’m sure your little people
will have a ball playing in it. After all, what kid doesn’t love playing in
the mud? Get them involved in the creation of their kitchen and they might have
more fun playing and creating in it!
---------
Now I'm a firm believer in that sharing is caring. So to thank Benita for writing a guest post for my blog, I wanted to include a special shout out for her handmade wooden toys and puzzles - Little Bird in a Beehive. Thanks so much Benita!
That is such a fantastic outdoor kitchen, I love it! I have never seen the 'spice jar' idea before and think that it is awesome! Will be pinning it now for when I make an outdoor kitchen for us! :)
ReplyDeleteGood work on branching out too Lauren! You are doing such a good job! Can't wait to read more!
I thought you would like this one Ali! I'm definitely keen to give this a go in our backyard too - might wait until we get a cubby house and tie them in together.
DeleteThanks for your kind words...
What a fantastic thing to do, your daughter is a very lucky girl. I have vivid memories of 'cooking all kinds of things from the garden when I was small, so much fun. I didn't do it so much with my own son because we mostly lived in apartments when he was little, but making cubbies was hugely popular.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteyour service is just amazing and your blog also.
I think my site is also a great site for the foodservice equipment of product.Because it is fast and trusted.
we have some information for you related to this product,
outdoor kitchen
ReplyDeleteA best equipment concept in your backyard serves as best price equipment to build your new store or business.
orbounder are the major parts of your orbounder,
This site gives opinions and information on the market.For more,
outdoor kitchen
Driven by our highly qualified team of professionals, we have achieved skylarking success in the last decade. Our qualified team of professionals is well versed with the latest technology used for various purposes in our company. VeggieSensations
ReplyDeleteGo for the best quality product possible and research before purchasing one. Wasting money is not something anyone likes, better spend sometimes on research and get the right fishing accessories.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice post you sharing. Thank you for your good experience shared with us.
ReplyDeleteMost important one is your story was dramatic.
Read out your article. Great one loved it. Continue onward. you are a best author your site is exceptionally helpful and useful a debt of gratitude is in order for sharing! If you love fishing then dont waste your money. Get the best one to know farther plese visit.. Best spinning reel
ReplyDeleteThe basic deduction given is exemplary.
ReplyDeletebest offset smoker
Chopping the foods with an electric chopper is handier when the quantity of food that has to be chopped is larger. But having an electric chopper does not mean that you will be able to chop the entire quantity at one time. Sometimes you might be able to chop only a portion of the total ingredients. Onion choppers
ReplyDeleteYou have done a great job on this article. It’s very readable and highly intelligent. You have even managed to make it understandable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you.
ReplyDeletefull post
Any outdoor space, can be treated as an outdoor room, by giving that space a purpose, a dedicated use and designing it to that use. A simple deck, patio or sidewalk can be converted into a spectacular room by giving the space the right use and with it the right attention to detail. BestBrandList
ReplyDeleteThe blog is so enchanting. You just can’t be resistant to it.
ReplyDeleteBrad Harris
How is the restroom access from your guest room? Do your guests need to stroll down a long lobby to get to the washroom? Do they need to go upstairs or first floor or even bother somebody to get to the washroom?warsaw missouri hotels
ReplyDeleteTherefore, it is better to buy the kitchen case, selection engine, pot, drain, touch and different kitchen addition products together, that may not just save yourself time and energy (in a feeling, it's still another way of preserving money) but can also acquire the very best reductions from the vendors. https://brandedkitchen.com/product/bike-mountain-wine-bottle-holder/
ReplyDeleteMake a rundown of region includes that your guest may require, for example, a laundry or territory stops and strolling trails, and keep a nearby telephone directory in the room for simple reference. Your guest will feel as if you've thought of their each need.cheap hotel in hays ks
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFearless and shocking in comparable measures, an undeniable necessity read.
ReplyDeleteLongboardbrand.com best longboards
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs a proud homeowner, you would certainly like to decorate your home with lights. With lights, you can turn your home into a warm and welcoming abode and provide a high level of safety and security after sunset. nature sounds
ReplyDeleteOutdoor sauna units are frequently worked out of cedar. It is a wood that opposes the climate, and in addition extends and contracts when expected to keep up the structure as the years progressed.outdoor sauna
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletewe build portrays your business effectively in the market. We utilise the World Class Technologies to give you the outstanding and most reputed digital asset.Getting online is easy. Succeeding online is a different story. You’ll need more than just a beautiful website to stand out these days. Online marketing solutions. Conversion-based web design coupled with a lead generating marketing plan, your online success is inevitable.
One man-made wonder that permits much greater satisfaction in nature is our new angling dock.blue pool
ReplyDeleteIn pingpong the ball must leap on your facet of the table before going over the internet once you hit it. it is this extra leap ping pong history
ReplyDeletePromptly drawn by writer's specific strategy for creating.
ReplyDeletebest binoculars