If your kids are anything like mine, they don’t really play with toys a whole lot.  They’d rather play with household items or demand my constant, undivided attention (I’m particularly thinking of one of my children).  That’s why I love any activity that involves stuff we already have…you aren’t buying something that will be buried in a toybox not to be touched for months on end, inevitably ending up in the “Goodwill” pile!

All you need for this activity are pots and pans with lids.  Let your child try to place the lids on the correct container.  This acts as a large “puzzle” for little ones since most pot lids have handles that are easy to grab.  It’s a great cognitive development activity because it encourages your child to figure out which lid belongs to which pot based on various attributes while also being a great motor activity!

Start off with the correct tops on each pot.

Let your child explore taking them off and putting them back on.

Try to let him/her explore on her own rather than jumping in to “correct’ if a lid is placed on the wrong pot.

Big Brother waited patiently for a few minutes while Little Brother had his fun, then the 2 played together…

…and the activity quickly morphed into pretend play involving some delcious bat soup.  Yum!

This activity captivated the boy’s attention for at least 25 minutes.  They probably would have kept on playing if we didn’t need to leave for a playdate at the park!