Apple Orchard Dramatic Play

Dramatic play isn't just an extra center. It isn't a time when teachers "get a break". Dramatic play is as important in the classroom as magnetic letters, pocket charts, and other teacher resources.  The dramatic play center offers the opportunity for kids to apply their learning through self selected activities.  It also provides the chance for kids to interact socially, work as a group, develop friendships, and become members of a society.  We recently set up an apple orchard in our dramatic play area.  Here's how we did it.

The Apple Orchard

To make the apple orchard we cut out some trees from pieces of poster board and added a brown trunk using bulletin board paper.  We laminated the trees but not the trunks.  We made the apples from 2 inch pompoms by adding foam leaves and stems that I just cut free hand.  I picked up some velcro dots from the dollar tree to attach the apples.  I added a few baskets from Goodwill for picking!

To play, the kids filled out an order form of how many of each color of apple they are picking.  Or, you could have them pick the apples and then fill out the form.

The Flower Shop

We also set up the fall flower shop.  I put some of the florist foam in the bottom of a few baskets.  I picked up the flowers at the dollar tree. Then, using a pair of wire cutters I cut the flowers off of the cluster of flowers.  I made some signs to attach to the containers, and the flowers to the correct container.

The kids used the flowers to make arrangements.

The Bakery

Our apple orchard also includes a bakery.  We picked up the pans from the dollar tree. I cut some brown felt that I glued into the pans (using hot glue).  I also cut some brown strips and circles for making crusts. We added pompoms for apples, and the kids are ready to start baking pies, muffins,and breads. I also cuts some doughnut shapes from felt and added a lighter brown felt circle to make the frosting.  I picked up some can food from my pantry (outdated food!) and removed the label.  Then, I attached an applesauce label to the cans. 

I found some red plates and added a stem and leaf to make it look like an apple.  I also found red bowls and muffin tins.  I made some placemats and the table is ready to set.

Time to play! After making the pies and other treats, the kids used a fall themed pot holder I picked up at the dollar store to pop them in the oven!

Dress Up Area

I set up a dress up area that contained the types of clothing that would support the play I wanted to see.  I added some fall themed tops and a chefs outfit.  I picked up the aprons in the play area of the dollar tree and just added a tag to the front.  I also hung our shopping bags on an empty hook.

The Tools

I scrounged around and found a wagon and a wheelbarrow to add to the area.  The shopping cart belongs to the classroom so I left it in the area as well. 

The Check Out Area

I added a "pay here" sign by our cash register.  The bakery and the apple orchard each have signs that tell how much the different items cost.

Signs

Along with other signs, we also added an "open" and a "closed" sign.

The "Office" Area

The last area to set up is the office area. We added signs for desk supplies, order forms, and price tags. We also set up our scale here. The kids can weigh the different apples they pick.

And there it is.  A perfect learning environment for fall! Go ahead...what are you waiting for! Set yours up too!

If you want to save time, I have a unit that contains all of the signs and other reproducible items. You can find it in this unit.

Dramatic Play: The Apple Orchard

Pumpkin Activities

Pumpkins are a favorite part of fall in most kindergarten and first grade classrooms.  Here are some of our favorite activities for learning all about pumpkins.  The pumpkin games are easy enough to become hands on independent literacy and math centers.

Parts of a Pumpkin

A brace map is a perfect way to identify the parts of a pumpkin.  I brought a pumpkin to school.  We cut it open to see all of the parts. Then, we worked together to draw the parts. Lastly, we worked together to stretch out the words

After making the class brace map, each of the kids made one of their own.  I painted their palms to make the pumpkin. Then, the kids wrote the parts of the pumpkin.

All About Pumpkins

We also completed this chart where we wrote all of the things that we learned about pumpkins.

Then, the kids each selected two facts that wanted to record.

Last, we made this fun pumpkin craftivity to store the writing.  If you look closely at the photo, you will notice that the pumpkin opens up right by the stem.  Each side opens up to show the completed writing.

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

We also learned about the life cycle of the pumpkin. The kids colored the pictures, cut them apart and sequenced them in the accordion folded pumpkin book.

Pumpkin Literacy Games and Activities

To play this phoneme segmentation game, we gave each child 3 pumpkin seeds and a wagon with 3 pumpkins.  Then, we made a set of cards.  We named each picture. As the kids said the word, they slid one seed for each phoneme.

If you want to turn this into a phonics activity, invite the kids to glue down a cvc picture.  Then, write one letter on each pumpkin.

Cooking is fun, engaging and educational! We made pumpkin pizzas! Then, the kids wrote the recipe and sequenced the pictures to show the steps!

Pumpkin Math Games

This is a super easy math center that we use A LOT in our data center.  The kids spin the spinner. Next, tally if it lands on apple or pumpkin.

Once they spin a given number of times, they create a graph using the data from the tally marks.

Here is another fun math game.  Make some pumpkin cards with the words more and less.  Place a cup on each side of the card.  We drew jack o lantern faces on our cups for extra fun! Invite the first child to pour orange water into one of the cups.  The next child then pours water into the other cup on the card, making sure they make theirs either more or less depending on which side they are pouring. Have the children take turns going first.

We love this super easy number game.  Line up the 3 scarecrows on the game board.  We made ours stand up by opening a paper clip and taping it to the back of the scarecrows.  Invite the kids to roll the dice.  Then, the kids select which scarecrow to move towards the harvest.  If you would like, you can have the kids split the move between two scarecrows to create an addition equation.  The goal of the game is to get all three scarecrows to the harvest!

All of these activities are from this unit: Apples and Pumpkins

Developing Literacy and Math Skills in the Dramatic Play with a PET STORE

The Pet Store is Open! Megan and I recently set up a pet store in her classroom. This blog post shares how we set it up and what we included!

First up, make the environment print rich.  Think "real" pet store. We added Open and Closed signs to encourage the children to use environmental print in their play.

Next, we set up an office area. This area holds all the "paper" supplies needed for their play. We have desk supplies, picture order forms, blank order forms for children to write out their order, and price tags.

Then, we set up the pet store.  We created labels for tubs to hold the supplies the kids will need. We added tubs for holding name tags, pet supplies, stuffed pets, ads, vet supplies, cards to label the store, and paper for making bedding for the cages.

You need a pay station! This is a favorite!

We also set up an area to hold clothing. We found some aprons at The Dollar Tree. They had a picture on the front, so we just made some Pet Store Tags to hot glue to the front. We added our doctor and nurse dress up clothing along with some general dress up clothing for the "shoppers". We hung the shopping bags on the last hook since this is right next to the cash register.

I picked up these baskets at the Dollar Tree and we have a cart as part of the classroom resources.  These give the "shoppers" somewhere to put their purchases.

And here it is...The Pet Store is ready for play!

The kids were quick to find their "jobs" and dress accordingly.  They found the name tags that indicate the jobs they have chosen.

They began their play by sorting the animals into the cages. My friend Jamie Hubbard shared this fabulous cage idea. I connected 4 together and stood them up.  I used zip ties to hold together locker shelves. I connected 4 more together, put them on their side, and slid them into the 4 standing.  I then used more zip ties to connect them! The kids love them!

Then, the kids used the pet labels to label each cage.

Next, they sorted the pet supplies and gave each item a price.

Now, it's time to shop. The kids filled out order forms of what they wanted to purchase.

Then, they used the order form to collect the items into one of the baskets.

And now time to pay and put the items into one of the brown bags.

We also included medical items so that the children could role play veterinarians.

The children completed forms about the check up!

I also included a few activities that would simulate jobs in the pet store. 

One activity was to sort fish into the correct bowls by their color.  You could also use goldfish crackers!

 We also included a pet bone size sorting activity.

 A favorite activity...looking at x-rays of pets and matching them to the correct pet picture.

 The last activity was a STEM Challenge. The kids used toothpicks and playdough to make cages for the small plastic pets.

I loved that they tried different things! 

First, the selected their pet and drew the design for the cage.

Then, they built their cages.

And, last their evaluated if their cage was effective.

They love this center! I can see if staying around for a few weeks! All of the supplies come from this unit:

Dramatic Play Pet Store Unit