Our Dramatic Play Bakery Shop has been a fun center for the children to learn and play this month in January. Each month, I have been posting dramatic play centers from our classroom. Look for more Dramatic Play centers here.
This is the front of our Bakery. I changed our awning to blue and white (this is bulletin board paper that I used to cover the awning). I added a “Bakery” pennant banner (from Pre-K Pages).
I bought these little chalkboard signs (Michaels, $2) and used bistro chalk markers to write on them. The neat thing about these little chalkboard signs is the chalk marker writing can be erased with water and I can use them again for other dramatic play centers. I think they would be great for an Ice Cream Shop, or Garden Shop, or Lemonade Stand.
I also picked up this little chalkboard easel (Michaels, $6) to make a sign for “Bakery Specials”. Many children will be able to count out 10 cookies and 2 dollar bills from our play money to get in a little counting practice.
On the top shelf, we have cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and chalkboard sign. On the middle shelf, we have bakery boxes, chocolate chip cookies, and more cookies. On the bottom, we have baskets with bakery tools.
These little cupcakes are sold with Easter eggs in the Spring. I see them in the stores every year. The tops do come off the bottoms, but the kids have not opened them (I’m guessing maybe they fit too tight and the kids can’t open them, or don’t know they open). These are in mini muffin pans.
I made the cinnamon rolls with felt. I cut tan and brown felt into strips, then rolled the felt strips, and hot-glued the ends. These are in a Dollar Tree regular-size muffin pan ($1).
I made these cookies with wooden circles from Michaels (they were something like $0.30 each, I think). I painted them with tan acrylic craft paint and then painted with colored acrylic paint on top. This is a Dollar Tree pan.
The chocolate chip cookies were made with the same wooden circles, tan acrylic craft paint and dark brown paint for the chocolate chips.
A few years ago, I made these cookies using tan Model Magic and painted the chocolate chips and icing with puff paint. I love these because they are the most like real cookies — 3D like real cookies would be. The trouble is they break. I originally had a lot more of these cookies, but this is what I have left after a few years of kids playing with them. You might even notice the teeth marks on one! Even though they can break, I thought I’d share this idea anyway. They would probably work great with kids at home. This years’ class has done surprisingly well: after one cookie broke, they have been very careful with the rest.
These are our bakery boxes from Small Cakes, donated by a parent.
One of the baskets holds our measuring cups and measuring spoons (from Dollar Tree).
The other basket holds these small spatulas (Dollar Tree, $1) and mini tongs (Hobby Lobby, $2). Just right for small hands!
These are our sugar, baking soda, and flour tins for the baking area of our dramatic play center. The sugar and baking soda tins are recycled tea tins that I spray painted and added a chalkboard label (Michaels, $1.50 for pack of 6 labels). The flour tin came from Target Dollar Spot ($3). I’m a tea drinker, so I always have these tins leftover, but you can order empty tins from Harney and Sons for $1.25. Better yet, buy Christmas tins during the after Christmas sale and spray paint them.
Our open/closed sign (from Pre-K Pages).
Bakery shop menus (from Pre-K Pages). These are laminated and the kids use these with dry erase markers.
We have a recipe book in our dramatic play house area all year, and children can use it with the Bakery Shop also. The recipe book is made with a “presentation book” from an office supply store, with kid-friendly recipe pages in the page protectors.
This is our kitchen area that stays in our House Center all year. Children can use these items to pretend to bake things for the Bakery Shop.
What do you have in your Bakery Dramatic Play Shop? Please share your ideas in the comments section below!
Where it Came From:
I used several printable items from the Bakery Dramatic Play Pack which is sold at Vanessa’s site, Pre-K Pages.
The market shelf with awning is the “Village Store” from Community Playthings. This shelf is the toddler size shelf, so the shelf is not tall. We use it just to display our store items, the kids don’t actually stand there the whole time. They come along and buy or sell something, then move along to set the table and “eat” their purchases. It works well for our class.
Disclosure: I was not paid or compensated in any way to promote any of the products listed on this page. The links are provided simply to be helpful.