In yesterday’s post, I talked about Nora’s new-found love of baking with her mama. And I also alluded to how she was giving me mini heart attacks while helping in the kitchen, since she was always standing up on one of our kitchen chairs.
Several months ago (we’re talking January), I first saw a Learning Tower over at my e-friend Kate’s blog. They had splurged on one for their son, Owen, because he, too, likes helping in the kitchen. But Kate wasn’t kidding when she called it a splurge, because Learning Towers retail for a whopping $200.
Now, I’m not saying it’s not worth it. Kate and Owen love theirs, and I’m sure we could’ve dropped $200 and been really happy with ours, too. But the thing was—I had seen something kind of like this before. And I had seen it on Pinterest.
I think you know where this is going now. (And well, I guess I sort of gave it away in the title of my post. Oops.)
I pinned this tutorial/these plans for a DIY Learning Tower about a year ago. It was before I had ever even seen the “store-bought” Learning Towers, and was way before Nora was ready for such a thing. But it looked cool and like it could be useful someday, so I pinned it to tuck it away for… well, the present day.
Two weeks ago, we headed to Home Depot with the supplies list, and I set up shop in the garage. I have never built anything from scratch in my life, so I took this on as a personal challenge. I figured if I can craft, I can do this.
And I was right.
Yep. I built that. (I’m kind of proud.)
Here’s a quick look at how I got here…
The starting pieces of lumber.
To make things more manageable, I broke up the work over several evenings. On that first night, all I did was measure and cut all of the pieces. It probably took me about two hours.
(Oh, and you’re going to see some amazingly sexy workshop clothes in these photos—you know, pajama pants, sweatpants, and fleeces. And I wore the same thing a few times in a row, so don’t be fooled into thinking I did all of this in just one or two nights!)
All of the cut pieces. Not a bad accomplishment for Night #1. And yeah, I did enjoy a beer or two during the process. Beer + power tools = totally fine, right? (In all seriousness, I took it easy.)
Then I started building. (It required a lot more measuring, too. Blah.)
Before I knew it, things started to come together.
Hey, it looks like the one in the picture! :)
Once it was officially built, I brought it into the house last weekend for Nora to try it out briefly.
She was a fan right off the bat. From here, you can stain it, paint it, or whatever. We opted to paint it a fun color—purple, because it’s Nora’s favorite. But first, I spent a few nights this week filling in all of the screw holes with wood filler, then sanding the whole thing with fine-grit sandpaper. Then, this past weekend, I spray primed and spray painted the whole thing.
Tonight, when I was getting ready to cook dinner and Nora demanded to be a part of the action—”Puh! Puh!” (Up! Up!)—I was prepared. I marched out to the garage and carried her new purple helper tower into the kitchen.
I gave her “jobs” (her favorite is to be taste tester). I let her “help.” She was a happy camper. And so was I.
The platform is adjustable. It rests on the ladder rungs, so as she gets older/taller, we can drop the level down a bit so she’s not towering over the countertop.
I’m really happy with how it turned out. I can’t believe I made it myself. And hey, it only cost about $40 in materials (including all of the spray paint). We had the correct size wood screws already on hand, so that saved us about $10.
It was a fun project, and a worthwhile one, too.
Questions? Feel free to ask! Again, the plans are from Ana White. And if you decide to make one on your own, good luck, and let me know how it goes! :)
Have you ever surprised yourself by completing a project you weren’t sure you could do? If you’ve built something from scratch before, what was it? How did it turn out? I have to say, I give a lot of credit to people who can do woodwork (like my dad and granddad!). Do you let your little ones “help” in the kitchen? What are some of the “jobs” you give them to keep them busy (and safe) in the kitchen?
28 Responses to DIY Learning Tower (or Helper Tower)
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About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
You’re my hero! That’s awesome and you did a great job. I have garage envy.
My two daughters are grown but I always enjoyed sharing with them and making traditions… my oldest loved helping me with laundry so I had her Dad make a small clothes line for her under mine in the back yard and I went and purchased her her own her own clothes pins and laundry basket…they both helped me bake but my youngest enjoyed it so much more…I purchashed her her own baking pans and bowls and other things along with her own apron and pot holders…I gave her her own kitchen cupboard and recipe box ..we shared some wonderful memories…both my girls come over at Christmas time and we share the memories along with the holiday baking….I also purchase them there very own new ornament each year and when they were small they each had there own ornament box to keep them in so that when they grew up and left home they would 1. be able to start there family tree and 2. take a piece of there Dad and I with them…sorry I have gone on and on..as you can tell I love talking about my girls…and I love the way you interact and share with your Nora…by the way great job in the garage…I too love my power tools…
Beth, thanks for sharing your traditions! Very sweet, I hope to be able to say the same things some day! My mom did the ornament thing for us when we were growing up, and I still love pulling out all of those old ornaments to put on my own tree every year.
Beyond impressed. We bought one but love it just the same. One helpful hint. Buy some heavy duty stick on felt stuff (descriptive, no?) Here, this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SL29KU/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00
and stick it on the bottom. Makes moving it around SO much easier and easier on your (new!) floors too.
Megan, YES! We have those on the bottoms of our kitchen and dining room chairs, and plan to get them for the helper tower, too. There have already been a few times when I’ve wanted to nudge it over with Nora on it (just to get to something in the drawer), and I had to try to pick it up (not the safest) because I didn’t want to drag it across our floor. Just need to get to the store to get some of those!
That is a GREAT idea!!! I’ll have to keep this in mind for the next year or two :)
I love this! Our little man is just 9 months old right now but I’ve had my eye on a learning tower for a while! You did a great job!
You did a fabulous job! What a great idea.
This looks SO AWESOME!!! Great, great job.
That is so cool! I’ve never seen one before, but I’m totally in love with the design. Maybe I can get my husband to build one for our 14-month-old daughter. She already wants to see what’s going on when I’m cooking, and I’d love to make her my official taste tester.
The taste tester is a very important role, but just be prepared for lots of “double dipping” incidents, and licking fingers, and all sorts of germy habits. :)
you should sell these! I bet you could make some good money! love your blog btw, found it randomly:)
Hi Erin, thanks! They probably wouldn’t be worth it for me to make and sell because it did take me quite a few hours to pull together. For the price I would have to charge for them to make it worth my time, people would probably be better off just ordering one of the “real” Learning Towers! :) But I am flattered you think they are good enough to sell! And welcome to the blog, I hope you stick around.
You go, girl! That looks great! I would be proud of myself, too. We’re expecting our first little one in March – I will have to tuck this idea away for the future. I can remember helping my mom bake chocolate chip cookies before I could see over the kitchen counter, with my trusty Rubbermaid stool. This looks way more fun!
Oh my goodness – that is awesome! I feel slightly guilty for actually buying our tower – haha – except I am not so sure mine would have turned out as nice as yours!! Impressive!
No guilt, Kate. I probably would’ve broken down and bought one, too, if we hadn’t come across this. After seeing how much she loves it now, there is no doubt it would’ve been worth the $200 if we weren’t in a position to build one ourselves!
<3 this! I have been having mild panic attacks for my 2 y/o when he washes his hands. He would love to help me cook, but I don't let him ith fear he will fall and hurt himself. I just the Tutorial over to my mother-n-law to see if my father-n-law could make it for my son's b-day next month. :) Thanks!
You’re welcome, I hope it makes things easier on you in the kitchen!
This.Is.Awesome. Thank you! Pinning it for later once my little guy is ready for it!
Thanks for the inspiration. My daughter got to try her DIY Tower for the first time tonight. Next step is paint! http://www.thegebelys.blogspot.com/2012/12/lenas-diy-play-kitchen-from.html
Contemplating making one, Bri wants to help so much! If only it would fold…
Amanda, if you look at the plans I linked to, there is a modification to make one with hinges so that it will fold!
Great tower!!! I looked at the original plan and the tool list requires jigsaw, circular saw and Kreg Jig are all of them necessary? Or just the jigsaw is enough. Thank you!
Hi Anna,
It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure that I only used the jigsaw. I had some of our pieces cut to size right at Lowe’s or Home Depot because we couldn’t fit the huge pieces in our car otherwise!
Question – Did you use the kreg jig to make pocket holes? Or did you just predrill and use the 2.5 in screws?
Hi Alyssa. I did not use a kreg jig. I predrilled holes using a countersunk bit.
Hello! The link to the instructions isnt there anymore- do you have a copy of it? If possible- please send to CarlyRaquel@gmail.com THANK YOU! I really want to make one!
Hi Carly, they are still on Ana White’s site. It just looks like they got moved to a slightly different URL. Here you go: http://ana-white.com/2010/12/helping-tower.html. I’ve also updated my link above.