Replies

1. 
   DennisS | Jul 21, 2003 10:58am | #1

   Spruce ....

   I guess the PC question is, why does it have to be a "kitchen"? Why not build her a scaled down workbench and buy some cheap hand tools she can manage without too much danger of injury to make things....? With Grampa there to guide her???? (grin)

   I always get a charge out of my buddies shopping for gifts for their wives - it's always something for the kitchen. Or the sewing room. Always something, useful of course, for ..... "womens' work".

   My daughter, now 29, was building things at age 8 with a saber saw, drill motor and other (relatively) non-lethal power tools. My son now 32 had his own back saw and hammer at the age of four.

   OK - that said, if it has to be a 'kitchen' - I'd use something very thin and light so she could move it around at will. A simple box with some black painted circular cutouts for the stove. A larger box for the fridge. Maybe one counter with a plastic bowl (with a lip on it) resting in a cutout in the top for a "sink", or even a rectangular one. These things don't have to be anywhere near real. Kids have an amazing imagination.

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

1. 
   Sprucegum | Jul 22, 2003 01:07am | #2

   Thanks for the suggestions.

   No doubt Grandpa will be encouraging the use of tools but this gift is from Grandma - so why is Grandpa building it? Darned if I know, <G> any excuse to make sawdust I guess.It's not what you chew, it's how you chew it

1. 
   DennisS | Jul 22, 2003 06:21am | #3

   I guess that's Gramma's perogative, ain't it! (grin). My mom was the same way with our daughter. It's a generation thing I suppose.

   I'm sure your granddaughter will be thrilled with her kitchen. The scalability issue isn't that easy to address, though. Perhaps by the time she outgrows this setup Grampa will have taught her to make her own kitchen! (he-he)

   Actually, if you scale it just a bit too big for her at this point, or rather at the point she'll be by Christmas time, she'll grow into it and be able to use it for a bit longer, maybe.

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

2. 
   Wateren | Jul 27, 2003 04:49pm | #4

   I didn't build it, we had a plastic kitchen set, but with some useful lessons for the designer.

   From watching my girls, it seemed the 'moving parts' and compartments were important and got a lot of use. A couple of doors and drawers that opened, a tray or basket (I think it had the play knives and forks) that they could take out and carry around. The play cordless phone - I had to go and make a cell phone out of wood so they would both have one and could have conversations.

   The parts that were too exact were less use than things that only suggested what they were. Thing is, it wasn't always a kitchen, sometimes it was a spaceship; when the elder was reading Swallows and Amazons, it was a schooner galley, etc. In this case, the parts that were made exactly realistic to be a kitchen limited how the girls could use them as other things. From what I saw with different sets in different places, they could play kitchen just as happily with an almost-crude wood faucet as with a fancy and expensive one that was chromed and detailed.

   As far as how long they use it, these things go in cycles and they could have used it to 10 or 12 (I guess), but ours was shifted on to others before then.

   Hope this helps. Cheers, Chris.

3. 
   Michael6255 | Jul 27, 2003 07:44pm | #5

   Hi SG,

   A few years ago, I remember that somebody at Badger Pond made an absolutely terrific play kitchen with a stovetop....fridge ...sink etc.  It was so incredibly good, I remember showing my wife.......and the fact that I remember the post is a testament to how good a job he did.  Since the Badger Pond site is now defunct, I'd post at WoodCentral...Sawmill Creek etc and ask some people to search their CD's for the pictures.  The site and all it's pix were archived on a CD that is for sale.

   PS...Someday your GD may want a bench, but I'll tell you that my daughter played for hours every week with her kitchen.  We gave her a little notepad and she'd take our orders at "Marietta's Restaurant".  Build her the kitchen, and dn't forget to buy her the plastic food.  You can get hamburgers ....sandwiches.....all sorts of stuff that makes it all that much more fun!!!!

   Mike

4. 
   fredsmart48 | Jul 28, 2003 01:19am | #6

   How about some dials that twist on and off, push buttons for on an off, oven door that opens on close, a wire rack in the oven . One or two kitchen cabinets for storage of pots and pans.

   Don’t for get to put it in a nice cardboard box. So when they get it unpacked and put it a side they can play with the box. :}

1. 
   DennisS | Jul 28, 2003 05:42am | #9

   > ....when they get it unpacked and put it a side they can play with the box. :}

   I was going to mention that when our kids were like 3 and 6, we bought a new dishwaser. Unpacked it in the living room. While I was installing it, the kids comandeered the box as their playhouse. It got more use than any of the store bought stuff they had.

   Giving kids things they can use to exercise their imagination is a priceless gift in my opinion.

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

1. 
   AlanTurner | Jul 31, 2003 10:44pm | #10

   Same story here with a refrigerator box.  Cut a few "doors" and htey were good for days.

   Alan

5. 
   Sprucegum | Jul 28, 2003 03:41am | #7

   Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

   It will be a while yet before I can get to it but I will let you see how it turns out. I am not contemplating an exact replica but I do like knobs and dials and doors and drawers :)

   It's not what you chew, it's how you chew it
6. 
   Manchild | Jul 28, 2003 04:54am | #8

   Our kids went to a kindergarten that had great play areas. Just about everything was moveable so the kids could configure there own walls, ceilings, and floor coverings. There is something very basic in building a space for yourself and the more flexible it is and basic the more you can use your imagination. That's what you want to foster at this young age. A lot of the time they build the structure then take on rolls in the space. Sometimes the leader, Sometimes the follower, and everything in between.

   The walls were like a tall sawhorse, about 18" wide and 4' tall. They had a shelf about 18" off the ground to set stuff on. Fabrics were draped over them and big clothes pins were used to clip them on. They also like to have a lot of dress up clothes to play there roll. They love to build a structure then get dressed up as some character and pretend for hours.

   Just my thoughts on play at this age.