After ordering, the food is somewhere between the kitchen and your table. What's happening back there? Each person adds one element to a shared napkin drawing of the kitchen: one person draws the chef, another adds the stove, another adds whatever they imagine is bubbling, another adds the waiter bursting through the swing door. Meanwhile, each person narrates one thing they think is happening right now ('I think someone just dropped the entire pasta order'). The activity runs until the food arrives.
What you need
- Napkins
- Pen
How to do it
- 1Slide a napkin over and say: "What do you think is happening in the kitchen right now? I bet the chef is wearing a tiny hat — let's draw it."
- 2Pass the napkin. Each person adds one element to the shared drawing of the kitchen.
- 3While drawing, narrate: one thing you think is happening back there at this exact moment.
Variations
- If they don't want to draw: they narrate the whole scene while you do the drawing.
- How it ends: folds itself in — 'food's coming' is the natural signal that the kitchen drawing is finished.
💡 Parent tip
Ridiculous starting details produce more creative additions than realistic ones — that's why the opening line hands them something absurd instead of a blank napkin.
What your child develops
- Collaborative creation — adding to someone else's drawing builds cooperative creativity
- Systems thinking — imagining a working kitchen requires understanding how different roles and processes connect
- Perspective shift — restaurants become more interesting when you think about what's happening behind the door
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