Creating a bakery dramatic play area for toddlers is a wonderful way to introduce the culinary art of baking to children. Complete with a kitchen, recipes, and a storefront to sell baked goods, preschoolers will enjoy this theme of pretend play. As a baker, shop owner, or customer, early learners are free to explore the depths of their own imagination while developing a number of different social skills.
Making a Bakery Dramatic Play Area
To stage a dramatic play area for a bakery, there must be a kitchen to bake in. Items to include in the pretend play kitchen consist of a refrigerator for cold ingredients, a cupboard for room temperature fixings, a stove with an oven for cooking and baking, and a sink to wash up in when all is said and done. In addition to the kitchen, preschoolers will need a way to display and sell their goods. A stand with shelves or baskets is great way to show shoppers what the bakery offers.
Baking Accessories
Now that the big pieces of furniture are in place, the smaller details can be addressed. In the kitchen, there should be a variety of utensils for the baking. Pots, pans, baking sheets, cookie cutters, muffin tins and more can be made available in the kitchen to work with. Additionally, including items such as potholders, hot pads, and kitchen towels can enhance imaginations in the bakery. Supply realistic baking ingredients, as well. Artificial pies, breads, muffins, and cookies that look like the real deal can all be used for pretend play to display and sell in the bakery. Set up a cash register to charge customers for their orders. This will give preschoolers the opportunity to learn, discover, and pretend play with the idea of money for buying and selling.
Decorating the Bakery
Involving children in setting up and decorating the kitchen and bakery shop gives them additional opportunities to demonstrate their creativity. Preschoolers can design pictures and banners for hanging on the walls to add some décor to the dramatic play area. They can also make price tags or signs for all of their items available to purchase. Children may enjoy adorning a variety of gift boxes and bags with ribbons and bows to sell their baked goods in upon purchase. Maybe they would like to create a menu of what their bakery offers for their customers. Preparing a recipe book for the kitchen is a great idea, as well. With images, ingredients and instructions, everyone can add their favorite treat to the book. Of course, every baker needs a chef hat and an apron to wear. Making hats and aprons is a great craft activity for the children.
Once the space has been prepared, created, and decorated, let the pretend play begin! Bakers can use the recipes or come up with a tasty treat of their own to bake. The kitchen crew can organize the utensils and pans, and help clean the dirty dishes in the sink and basin. The bakery shop employees can display and sell all the baked goods to customers. The owner can tally up the drawer and the end of the day and see how much money was made. There are limitless opportunities for pretend play with a bakery theme. Go ahead and get started!