Young children love to pretend to make coffee and tea, serving it in cups and mugs to their friends. This fall coffee shop has everything you need – signs, forms, and labels along with coffee makers, tea kettles, and baked goods. We love including this during our pumpkin theme! Watch the video:
This means our dramatic play area goes from an apple orchard to a fall coffee shop, and I love setting up this activity!
Fall Coffee Shop Dramatic Play
The dramatic play area is offered every day as part of our free-choice centers time. This center allows children to strengthen social skills as they share space, learning how to work together while using their imagination. During our school year in the two and three year old classroom, most children start the year playing side-by-side. As the year progresses, they start playing together. Through imaginative play they are strengthening their verbal skills as they engage in conversations. I like to set up play invitations that are meaningful, that the children have had experience with. Going to a coffee shop, perhaps enjoying a baked treat, is something the children do with their families.
I love to take advantage of garage sales and thrift stores. We also get items donated by families. You can even send home a list of desired items. When families are gathering what they no longer need, they might have something that will be useful for the dramatic play area! Items We Used:
Real (non-functioning) coffee maker (we were lucky to find one with a stainless steel carafe, as we didn’t want glass) Pretend coffee maker Paper cups and lids Tea set Pretend baked goods Empty spice containers Muffin tins Baskets and trays Aprons Cash register Phones Signs, labels and forms from our Pumpkin Packet
Coffee will be poured and brought to the table. Baked goods will be set on trays, maybe placed in the oven for awhile, then passed out to friends. The children will learn the important skill of sharing space and materials, something that can be challenging for toddlers and young preschoolers.
When I sit down to join their play, I will ask questions such as, “Can I please have a cup of coffee?” Of course, I will then be given multiple cups of coffee and many baked goods!
Learning Through Play
If someone were to ask me to share an example of how children learn through play, I would tell them that our entire classroom is set up for open-ended exploration and play. However, it’s really evident in the dramatic play area. I try to share this when I upload snippets of our morning in my Instagram stories. It’s a very busy area with non-stop movement as the children use their imaginations. Here is my Privacy Policy
