It’s true, everyone congregates in the kitchen. It’s especially true when you are trying to get dinner on the table. The question I’m always asking myself is, “how do I put my kids to good use?” Let’s be honest, what I’m really wondering is how do I distract my kids while my amazing chicken pesto with veggies bakes?
Very accidently I discovered that smelling spices is really a lot of fun for kids of all ages. I had a few spice jars open on the counter for dinner and my son starting smelling them and telling me what he thought they smelled like. He was so funny! He would say things like, “this one smells like our dog Indi and also like the pond. This one smells like apples and winter.” Some totally grossed him out and others needed to be sprinkled on his dinner plate they were so deliciously aromatic. It turned into a wonderfully imaginative way to spend 20 minutes before we sat down to eat. The smells were new and different, sparking some great creative expressions.
So the next time everyone ends up in the kitchen, take out a row of spices and smell them one by one. Ask your kids to tell you what the spices smell similar to. I think one spiced somehow smelled like a friend at school. Not sure what to make of that, but we did laugh on the floor for a few minutes.
Dream big. Dream often. Watch the clouds!
Filed under: Expand - BB#6, For Families and Kids | Tagged: cooking recipes for kids, creative cooking, creativity in the kitchen, family fun, games in kitchen, imaginative play, imaginibbles, kids activities, kids games, kids in the kitchen, Playroom, playtime during dinner, right brain exercises for children, right brain for kids, tamara kleinberg
