Homemade Play Kitchen

Start opening boxes and bags of food and cans from the bottom rather than the top. Clean out the empty containers and save. Do the same thing with juice bottles, milk containers, yogurt and other dairy products. These will become the ingredients for your little home chef.

Spray paint three sturdy cardboard boxes the color of your own kitchen appliances. One box will become the refrigerator, one a stove and one a sink. The size of the boxes depends on how big your kids are. Toddlers need smaller boxes. Preschoolers need bigger boxes.

Draw four sets of concentric circles on the top of the mid-sized box in red. These will be the burners on the stove. Add knobs by painting round drawer pulls either black or white to contrast with the color of the stove. Attach the knobs by punching a screw through the underside of the cardboard and screwing the knob in.

Cut a three sided opening for the oven door in the front side of the box. Draw a straight line on the fourth uncut side of the opening. Bend the cardboard flap back so it opens easily. Line the cut edges with duct tape. Place a strip of duct tape on the bottom of the door where the straight line is to strengthen it. Attach a latch to the oven door and the box so the door closes and stays closed. Place a set of stacked wire storage shelves in the inside of the box to become the oven shelves.

Cut an opening in the top of the box that is to be the sink. The opening should be the same size as the plastic tub. The plastic tub fits in the box to become the sink. Put duct tape on the cut edges of the sink opening.

Cut a door in the third box similar to the method used for the oven. This will be the fridge door. Place stacked wire storage shelves inside for the shelves.

Store the empty food containers in the fridge.

Outfit the kitchen with plastic dishes, knifes, forks and bowls. Use several small pots and pans for the stove.