My baby boy is now fully into the baby food stage of his little life! We have delved right into rice cereal, oatmeal, smashed peas and steamed carrots…all courtesy of Gerber 🙂

I do not make my own baby food. I know it’s simple and healthy, but have you checked Gerber’s ingredient’s lately? Just food, water, and citric acid. And you know what- I’m okay with that. I can barely get a home cooked dinner on the table every night, so I knew attempting to make my own baby food was just not in the cards for me. After all- I’m no super mom! Not even close!

That being said, we have an ABUNDANCE of baby food jars in my house. Now my husband already thinks I am a hoarder (I am FAR from it-  I’m just frugal and like to save items for future use). So I have to start using these things before he tosses them and pulls the hoarder card on me…

Here’s a quick invitation to play I came up with to use some of those baby jars lids.

Materials:

* Muffin Tin
* Baby food jar lids (enough to fill the muffin tin)
* Magnetic wand (we actually did not have this, but it is on my list to use next time we do this activity!)



Invitation to Play
Aren’t those lids just too cute?!?

The set-up:

You can choose to start by already having the lids in the muffin tray, or placing them aside and letting your munchkin figure it out on his/her own.



Invitation to Play
I started with the lids already in the tray.

The Play:

Invitation to Play
 
Invitation to Play
 
 
Cannon had a good time just taking the lids out, rearranging them, listening to them clank on the metal muffin tin, and flipping them over to examine them. It was a great way to keep him busy while I cooked dinner. Next time I want to have a magnetic wand available to explore how the lids stick to the magnet!
 
If you’re child is a bit older, you can even extend this activity to be a matching game.
Invitation to Play
 
The pictures on the lids are so cute for a matching activity! I think I’d like to Modge Podge something cute on the inside of the lids to make them a bit prettier though 🙂
 
This activity got me excited to find more ways to play with items we already have around the house. Being on a tight budget can be challenging when I see so many great things to buy my son- but sometimes the best activities are the ones he sees me making up for him with items we already own 🙂
 

2 thoughts on “A quick “Invitation to Play””

  1. Pingback: 10 {quick} Activities to Keep Kids Busy while you Cook Dinner - Munchkins and Moms

  2. As a fellow busy mom, I appreciate your openness and honesty about using pre-made baby food. Other than the citric acid (read: preservative), the food is the same as homemade, and doesn’t have to be made fresh every few days. Too often, I read blogs from SAHMs, and feel “lesser” for using things like disposable diapers and store-bought baby food.

    Re: the activity; We’re past baby food from our youngest, but I will keep this in mind for the future!

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