littlestove2

My son loves to cook (for real, and pretend), and I am so drawn to all those adorable mini kitchens that are way out of my price range (not to mention out of my storage capacity). We were playing with his toy pots and pans the other day when I saw an errant plastic storage bin (the ones that are about the size of a shoebox). I turned it over and pretended it was a range, and then thought, a-ha! here’s a good solution to our lack of play kitchen!

The best part? When you’re done play-cooking, you can turn the range over and store all your play dishes inside! You can get the shoebox-sized boxes at the dollar store, or any department store for less than $2.

littlestove3

Project Materials:

  • Plastic storage bin, $1
  • Construction paper, on hand or $1
  • Glue, on hand
  • Double-sided tape, on hand or $1

Total cost: $1 and up

littlestove1

To make:

  1. Cut out one piece of construction paper the size of the bottom of your plastic bin. I used black.
  2. Cut out two spirals for the range-coils on the stove. I used red. (To cut spiral: Cut a circle, then cut a spiral into it. When you get to the center of the spiral, turn around and cut a bit off of one side of the spiral all the way back out to the edge of the circle.)
  3. Glue spirals onto base piece of paper.
  4. Attach paper to inside bottom of bin with double-sided tape.

Alternate ideas:

  • Draw the range-coil shapes onto the paper instead of gluing separate paper spirals.
  • Glue the paper to the bottom of the bin instead of double-stick taping.
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