You can start with sowing seeds of bush beans. They're large seeds...easy to sow, fast to germinate and make beans that your toddler can eat raw or cooked. Bush beans will do great in containers but they must be kept well watered...expect that on very sunny days you'll need to add up to a gallon of water for a container the size of a five gallon bucket.

I worked in a Montessori School with children from 3 to 12 yrs of age. I did Arts & Crafts with the kids all the time. It's nice that you want to give them something from yourself. A nice idea would be to take their picture of them, and then make a nice frame for it and put the date on it as well. I used to do this as a parent gift from the kids each year, for the Holidays. It's something that's 'generic' and can be enjoyed by All, no matter what Holiday they celebrate. It became a Tradition for some families, when I would have a brother or sister of a child who had been in my class previously, and now it was their turn. You can use almost anything to make the frame. I've used Popsicle sticks painted, and Glued Colorful Buttons (all kinds and shapes) and Small Colorful tiles on them. Even if you don't want to glue them ALL over the sticks...You can just glue them to the four corners. Also, there are many Flat Wooden shapes in the craft stores that are cheap that can be painted and the picture mounted on them...One year,with the older kids, I taught them how to crochet. They crochet round almost snowflake shapes, and mounted and glued their pictures in the center. When it comes to gifts...pictures of the kids ALWAYS seemed to be a hit. Since your crafty, then the easy part is to take a picture and Let Your Imagination 'FLY'.. Hope this helps some.

Not in a kitchen, I think kitchens are a little daunting since they have such high price tags you don't want to screw it up... I used rubber stamps to decorate bathroom walls. The bathroom was a jack and jill, with my young son's room on one side and and a bedroom DH used as an office on the other side. The walls were off white, and I bought vintage-y looking rubber stamps, and made a random pattern (quite widely spaced, the room was mostly off white) with black ink. Things like an old typewriter, and ink well, a trout, a crescent moon, etc etc. People always liked it. In our daughter's nursery, we had a cottage garden theme. We bought wooden shutters and window boxes, painted them white with cast iron strapping hardware and hung them inside the room. The windows boxes were all filled with stuffed animals (realistic ones, no hot pink or purple .... lol). All of this now painted over and removed for staging, alas. PS I saw a kitchen the other day with a beadboard backsplash, and then they had delft tiles here and there, hanging like little paintings. Very cute.

Thank you everyone for the fabulous ideas! I am on the lookout now for any and all of them! wonbyherwits, that is a great idea. Anything that does double-duty in a small room is an asset! I will check out the local import store to see if they have something similar. syllabus, thanks for all the great ideas. After reading your post, I did a quick search on ebay yesterday and saw some incredible art pottery umbrella stands. Too expensive but I like the idea, maybe I can find a less expensive alternative. And I love gardening, so finding something that's intended for the garden is a great idea too. johnmari, what keywords did you use on the ebay search to find that table by the chair? Love the coffee table too. And I hear you on the sand for anything tippy...the local lamp repair shop guy told me he fills every pottery lamp he gets with sand. And I would use a round wood top on anything, with a pre-schooler in the house. organic, I am in Maine. I check boston.craigslist.org/fur every day, though so far I haven't found anything worth the drive. Thanks for the link. There was something similar at a consigment store down the street from me...I will go take a second look at it. Storage would be a big bonus (as you know, in a small house!). teeda, my ex had one of those magazine tables (belonged to his grandfather), so I know exactly what you're describing. As for price, I guess I would cut off consideration of anything that went over $150. Kind of depends on the piece though. I think I need 3 items. kec01, I am still hopeful of finding a taller plant stand. I might even go ahead and get a rather short one just to have some variation in the height of the tables in the room. There is one chair that could handle it. pfmastin, thanks for the crock photo. I love that look but couldn't visualize how a top would fit. That photo helps. lindasc, I am on the lookout!