The Pan Cupboard

What you need

• one low kitchen cupboard or drawer you have cleared
• a few saucepans and their lids
• a couple of plastic tubs and a wooden spoon

How to do it

1. Fill one low cupboard with things that are fine to pull out: light saucepans, their lids, plastic tubs and a wooden spoon.
2. Sit on the floor in front of it and open the door together.
3. Let them take everything out, one thing at a time, and name each one as it comes.
4. Fit a small pan inside a big one, let them try, then put everything back in together.

Why it matters

A cupboard of real things from the kitchen has more to find in it than a toy box, and putting it all back is half the game.

What they're learning

In and out

Taking every pan out and putting them back in.

Big and small

A small pan fits inside a big one, and the other way doesn't.

Lids

Trying a lid on one pan, then another, until it sits flat.

What to look for

Notice them trying to fit a big pan into a small one, then swapping them over.

A tip

Keep this cupboard for light pans and plastic only: no glass, no knives, nothing heavy and no cleaning things. Prop the door open while they play so it can't close on their fingers, and lock the other cupboards so it's clear which one is theirs.

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