Kitchen Play

Grandma gave Kitten a gorgeous wooden kitchen for her birthday and I supplemented with some pots and pans. I intentionally did not get her a lot of play food, as I wanted her to use her imagination in best Waldorf traditions. As a result, Kitten has been constantly playing a cook. I actually did not expect her to be so into it yet, she is only 2, but she loves it. Of course, she is not coming up with imaginary stories yet but she enjoys "washing" dishes (making an adorable "shhh" sound when she turns water on), using potholders, filling pots with dry pasta, stones and pinecones, transferring "food" to plates using a spoon, feeding us and dolls and so much more! The imitation period at its peak, this is perfect timing for her. I cook quite a lot, and she is so happy to be able to do same things, even though I let her help me whenever she asks to. All sorts of skills are developing while she plays: fine and gross motor, communication, observation, problem solving and, of course, most importantly, imagination.