Sometimes we get caught up in thinking we need to buy TOYS for the kids when really they can be quite entertained with some simple things found in your own kitchen. (Yesterday I saw a 19-month-old boy happily playing with a tag cut off of something new. He was folding and unfolding it and sharing it with me and then taking it back when I offered him his “book” back.) 😉
Today I’d like to talk about one of those things…a simple funnel.
Just the fact that you can pour something into the top of the funnel and watch it run out the bottom part can make for hours of fun for kids! Here are a few ideas of things to play while using a funnel:
#1.) Rice. White rice is very inexpensive but put some in a tub or bowl and hand your child a funnel and maybe a cup and the fun begins!
#2.) Small dried beans. Small dried beans are a similar idea to the rice. The beans I have are a little bit large for using with my funnel, but they still work, only they move through the funnel more slowly and sometimes you have to shake the funnel a bit to get them to go through.
#3.) Water. Yes, just plain ole water! If it’s a hot day, give the kids a funnel and a tub of water outside. Using some cups, they can pour the water into the funnel using one cup and letting the water fill another cup. Even better, give the kids some cups and a funnel while they’re in the bathtub. They’ll want to stay in the tub until their skin is wrinkled up like a prune! 😉
#4.) Speaking of water, add some dish soap and lather up some bubbles! Or if you want to play with this in the bathtub, add some bubble bath soap to the water.
Here’s a fun thing that a funnel is great for with bubbles…scoop up some bubbles with the funnel like this…
Then push the funnel upside down, down into the water and the bubbles will squirt out the top of the funnel! It’s really quite cool! 😉 It’s a little like having your own personal volcano! LOL
#5.) Sand. Yep, you can take a funnel to the beach or bring the beach to your house. Outside is good…lol! You can use a dishpan inside and it works rather well.
Matchbox cars and trucks are fun to bury in the sand. 😉 What truck?
And fun to dig them back out again, of course!
#6.) Water beads. Have your kids played with water beads? They start off very tiny, but as they sit in water they get bigger and bigger. Don’t let them get too big or they won’t fit through the opening in the funnel. This activity is also good for outside play or in the bathtub. 😉
There ya go! 6 ideas of things your kids can play with using a simple funnel found in your kitchen. Hope you all enjoy these ideas! 🙂
The Kids Niche 