Play Food
All the Ways to Play:
Grows with your baby! Work on grasping and releasing with your new sitter and older, then transition to color sorting and labeling food items as your little one gets older.
Functional Language: colors, food items, in, outAll the foods you would stock in your refrigerator! Label the food items and sort them as you put them where they need to go. Talk about which foods need refrigerated and which need frozen!
Functional Language: food names, refrigerator, cold, freezer, in, outEncourage healthy eating for your new sitter and older. Start by practicing releasing items into the bowl, then move on to using the tongs to mix and serve with your toddler!
Functional Language: salad, mix, more, yum, eat, crunchA great addition to your play kitchen! Increase wrist rotation by practicing turning the condiments and shakers upside down to “pour on” and “season” your pretend food. Talk about what the flavors taste like in real life!
Functional Language: more, dump, shake, ketchup, mustard, salt, pepperPerfect for toddlers to start learning and talking about healthy eating and balanced meals. Use play food to cook in the play kitchen, label food items, and sort them, too.
Functional Language: food items, protein, carb, fat, cook, eat, more, yumHave fun making pasta with your little one while you work on following directions, sequencing, language development, and motor skills.
Functional Language: pasta, eat, yum, stir, cook, drain, in, outAn amazing and functional play set with so many different motor, cognitive, and language opportunities! Work on counting, sorting, matching, fine motor strength and coordination as you help your little one find and organize the food items. Great for 3+ years.
Functional Language: in, out, open, close, food items, numbersPractice using two hands and develop functional motor skills with this wooden knife cutting set. Great for matching as you reconstruct the food pieces.
Functional Language: cut, slice, knife, food items, in, out, together, apartSlice & Stack Sandwich Counter:
Practice cutting, stacking, using tongs, sequencing, and following directions with this sandwich set. Your toddler will love constructing the perfect sandwich for you during pretend play.
Functional Language: sandwich, meat, cheese, more, food, stack, “I want…”Tap, crack, and open these pretend eggs with your little one. Perfect for new sitters and older to develop bilateral coordination skills.
Functional Language: egg, tap, crack, open, drop, more, in, outHave your little one take your pizza order, then sit back and watch them work on sequencing as they make, construct, and serve your pizza! Then trade places and take their pizza order.
Functional Language: pizza, more, cheese, pepperoni, veggies, cut, slice, serve, my/your turnPractice finding matching fruit halves, pushing them together, and pulling them apart again. Introduce around 12 months to start working on dropping the fruit into the storage container. You can use as play food, too. This toy will grow with your little one!
Functional Language: fruit items, colors, shapes, together, apart, push, pull, “Can you find the…?”
How to Set the Play Scene:
You have your play food & play kitchen to match, but how do you set them up for play? Our Ways to Play Guides can help with that!
Shop Pizza Party:
Shop Farmers Market Finds:
Shop Get Cookin’:
If your little one loves play food & playing in the kitchen, be sure to check out our kitchen, sweets & treats, and coffee & tea pages, too!
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