Three Tasty Play Activities That Are [Almost] Good Enough to Eat!

This time of year can find us busy in the kitchen and kids are eager to join in, whether it's tasting, playing or offering a hindering helping hand. Some of the time I do invite the kids into the kitchen to help with cooking and sometimes I join them in play activities about cooking or baking. And sometimes, I need a really great play activity that will keep them busy while I cook and bake in the kitchen... This post has you covered for all three scenarios and more!

Growing up, I honestly thought a cranberry was something cylindrical in shape, with jellied indentations on its outside that held a remarkable resemblance to the inside of a tin can. Cranberry sauce was served only with turkey and always sliced in even circles, gently laid upon the same white Pyrex dish every single time. Ah, the memories. My mom is a great cook, so heaven only knows why she never made cranberry sauce, but I loved the canned stuff. (Maybe that's why--there was now officially ONE thing I'd eat on the Thanksgiving table...)

Well fast forward to this year, and I kept seeing photos of cranberry and water sensory bins floating around the internet. I have mixed opinions about playing with food, but it is not something I am rigidly against in my home. Y in particular loves water play, and both boys have been enjoying our Bakery Shop Dramatic Play Center. So I picked up a couple of packs of cranberries, grabbed some of our cooking/baking props (actual bowls, colanders and utensils from Dollar Tree) and added water. It was a hit! The cranberries were so much fun to scoop, smoosh, transfer and stir. The water was a perfect medium for pouring and mixing. When the day was done, I drained the water and stored the cranberries in the refrigerator for more play the next day. Meanwhile, in the kitchen I discovered how easy making your own cranberry sauce from scratch actually is! Just a batch of cranberries, a cup of orange juice and a cup of sugar, simmered on the stovetop until those cranberries POP! About ten minutes later, I had cranberry sauce...who knew?

Well, speaking of our bakery theme... The boys have really been engaged in dramatic play! They have both loved setting up and selling items from our bakery shop, taking orders, making specialty drinks in our hot beverage cups (just hot cups with lids) and creating additional play props to add to the scene. We brought out the Model Magic clay again to create some play donuts (hand shaped) and cupcakes (shaped in cupcake tins). Once the clay air dried (it took a few days here for the thicker cupcakes) we got out some tempura paint and glitter glue for decorating.

These cupcakes look almost good enough to eat and the boys love playing with props they made themselves!

For another DIY play prop that even smells almost good enough to eat, I whipped up a batch of gingerbread salt dough to make play gingerbread cookies. Here's the recipe I concocted if you'd like to make your own. The dough is easy to work with, smells great and dries very well overnight (you may want to flip your "cookies" intermittently to ensure they dry on both sides and through the center). They can be painted and coated with a seal if you really want them to last or to use them decoratively. They are not immune to breaking when dropped, but they boys are having fun with them nonetheless, and if they end up tossed away after we close up the bakery shop this year, we definitely got good use out them. They can for sure be stored and saved if you wish.

Gingerbread Salt Dough Recipe
You will need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 cup warm water

Mix your ingredients well until you have a smooth dough. (The dough will be darker than the dried cookies pictured on the left.) To shape your "cookies," roll dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut in your favorite shapes with cookie cutters. Allow finished cookies to air dry until completely hardened. Paint, seal and decorate as you wish. To store leftover dough, seal in a plastic bag or container and refrigerate to prolong shelf-life.

The boys are so excited for Chanukah that I set out some Chanukah shaped cookie cutters along with our gingerbread men. And speaking of Chanukah, here's a shameless plug for my Chanukah Counting Soup available on Teachers Pay Teachers. This is a fun way to promote early math skills, great for ages 3-8 for use in your home and/or classroom. Take advantage of Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) and save 20% ! 

Whatever holidays or special events you're preparing for, I wish you a productive and playful time. Stay tuned for some exciting updates to our dramatic play theme here in the next couple of weeks and until then...

Happy playing!

More Bakery Themed Fun with Art & Sensory Play

Our Bakery Dramatic Play setup has been loads of fun so far. Both boys have been busy baking, boxing, delivering and serving sweet treats around the house. And the fun has extended beyond our kitchen set and playroom to the art table and our sensory bin! These sweet activities are sure to please the little bakers-in-training in your home or classroom...

When school ended last Spring, S really missed "Morning Work" each day, so I started setting up a simple Table Time activity each morning at home. Y immediately took to it as well, and even once school started up again in the Fall, I knew there was no turning back. Every morning, the boys are eager to see what's set up at the table for "Morning Work." Sometimes it is related to a play theme or the season or an upcoming holiday or family event. Sometimes it's a journal activity or related to letters numbers, writing/coloring practice or even process art. Playdough and clay are always popular ones and I try to make the activity developmentally appropriate and enjoyable for each of the boys at his own level.

This week, it has been natural that we would include a bakery theme to our Morning Work set-ups. We are in need of some new artwork to hang up around the house after a recent swap out, so I set out an invitation to create cookies using colorful card stock, oil pastels, glue, glitter and tiny circle stickers for decorating. For S, I traced a circle (using a roll of masking tape) onto some squares of card stock that he could cut. For Y (and S if he wanted as well, though he loves cutting and chose to cut his own) I set out some pre-cut circle shapes. You can choose other shapes to add or have children trace/draw and cut their own. I set out a bottle of glue that S can squeeze and use independently but also a plastic container of glue with some brushes for Y to be able to work more independently. I always allow for both boys to try any of the materials that are out. That means Y may need some support to squeeze from a bottle and be safe with scissors and that S can use the more "challenging" options intended for his level or use the alternatives. I also filled a couple of salt and pepper shakers from the Dollar Tree with glitter. You have to really love glitter to do this--especially before 9AM! Admittedly, I closed up shop at 8:35 once the boys and surrounding areas were sufficiently covered in sparkle. Alternatively you can forego the glitter altogether or use/make glitter glue. To help minimize the sparkle factor, I used a pre-cut portion of a plastic tablecloth so I could take it off and toss it at the end. Instead of our usual art mats or work trays, I set down some leftover party plates to work on. This was festive, fun and functional for collecting extra glue and glitter spills and tossing out at the end. The boys loved this activity and each of them made a few cookies to decorate our play space. You could also use the finished work in your kitchen set for play.

Speaking of art that can be used in play, both of the boys have loved creating play food from Model Magic air drying clay by Crayola. Model Magic can be a bit pricey, so I waited for a lightening deal on Amazon recently and bought a bulk set intended for classroom use. Coupons from craft supply chains are also helpful. You can also make salt dough at home and use this instead. This week, the boys made clay donuts from Model Magic. S made the world's biggest donut and Y had fun working with my help to make a couple of his own to contribute. We are waiting for those and some clay cupcakes to dry now so we can add puffy paint and glitter decorations and then add them to our bakery shop setup. 

Meanwhile, in the sensory table... 

I tried out a recipe for Birthday Cake Dough  that I found at Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails. 

You can click on the link for the full recipe. 

You'll need:

• a box of cake mix (I used yellow cake mix)
• a box of baking soda (I actually added a little extra at the end because the dough was a bit wetter than I wanted it)
• a cup of vegetable oil
• a bit of vanilla extract 
• sprinkles

This dough smells heavenly and I would definitely classify it as "taste safe" being that the ingredients are all food ingredients. Nonetheless, it will not taste good, so I'd refrain from calling it edible. 

It mixes into a sticky and rather moist but malleable playdough and is super soft and fun! We added it into the sensory bin along with some baking tools, ice cream scoops and birthday candles for making cakes and cupcakes. You could definitely do this tabletop style instead, but I like our sensory bin for dough activities sometimes, especially some of the messier ones. Little ones can definitely help with making the dough as well and no cooking is involved. To store between play sessions, I would recommend using a ziploc bag or airtight container and refrigerating for longer shelf life. This recipe would also be a great one for Ice Cream themed sensory play and you could use other flavors of cake mix as well.

And nothing goes to waste (even and especially when we are using food products in play) here. I saved and sealed the empty ingredient boxes in clear packing tape so the boys can use them in play at their bakery shop. Nowadays, toy companies market all kinds of great play food and accessories. Nonetheless, these can be pricey and using/creating your own play props is a great alternative. As an added bonus, recycling real food containers and boxes promotes a naturally print rich environment and also feels more "realistic" to young children at play. 

Hope you will enjoy some of these sweet little activities. Dramatic play themes can extend well beyond the playroom and incorporate so many areas of play and development. We will be back soon with more and until then...

Happy Playing!

A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Welcome to the Bakery!

Great things are worth repeating! Last year around Chanukah time, we set up our dramatic play area as a Holiday Bakery, and I'm pretty sure that's how we survived winter break from school! There's about a month until Chanukah now, but a month beforehand of birthdays in our family, Thanksgiving, and pending Chanukah excitement made me eager to get a jump start on our Bakery play theme this year.



Both boys are a whole year older now and dramatic play is something they are beginning to share in together, each at his own level. Y is mobile now, walking all around and navigating our play space. S is making huge strides in writing and math skills. Both boys love to play pretend, especially in our kitchen set and both boys love art and sensory play. Have I mentioned that both boys also love sweets and treats? Well, that's pretty much a given--so I knew they both would love this bakery theme.

When setting up a play theme in your home (or classroom), I'm a big fan of using what you have on hand. There's no need to spend a fortune or reinvent the wheel. I reused a lot of our bakery themed props from last year, including laminated printables, chefs hats we'd made, toys and props we already had, etc. Many of our kitchen set accessories were purchased secondhand, at the Dollar Tree or are homemade. This year I did get a lot of ideas and resources from Pocket of Preschool, including her great Bakery Dramatic Play set from TeachersPayTeachers.

I'm also enlisting the boys' help in making props out of Model Magic clay. This is such a fun art activity to do and it's so nice for them to see their own artwork being used at play! So far, they loved rolling and cutting out clay cookies. We allowed them to dry before "frosting" them with homemade puffy paints (shaving cream, white glue and food coloring), decorating with store-bought puffy paints (S did this) and adding rainbow rice "sprinkles" (both boys did this). Once dry, they were a great addition to our bakery! The boys will also be making clay donuts, cupcakes and perhaps even some gingerbread men!

Our bakery theme is set up to encompass a variety of areas of play and learning. A print rich environment supports my pre-reader through the incusion of signs, labels and natural print on recycled food containers. Plenty of opportunities for writing are set around the room, including laminated party invitations, bakery order forms, a receipt book and customer order book (Dollar Tree). Our bookshelf is stocked with some of our favorite baking and party themed books and a trip to the library will fill out the rest. Some actual baking cookbooks with beautiful photos are set out next to the play oven (which I made using a recycled box covered in tin foil with some recycled bottle caps glued on and a dollar store digital timer).

Math skills come into play as the boys count out cookies and cupcakes and fill customer orders. Even Y develops early one-to-one correspondence by placing one cupcake in each space of the cupcake tins or one egg in each space of the recycled egg carton. Our cash register and play money also support early math skills. Sequencing skills through following recipes come into play and action in this theme (and we will likely be doing some actual baking in the coming month as well). Fine motor skills are busy at work for both boys. They both are still loving the DIY Pumpkin Pie Set (pictured on bottom right in the photo above) made from felt and orange pom poms that the boys pick up using a variety of fine motor tongs, tweezers and tools.

Both of the boys are still loving our Counting Cupcakes Sensory Bin. Y learned how to sing "Happy Birthday to You" over there (he sings it all the time, now) and S loves picking number candles and counting out birthday candles to go with them. I'm planning to do a flour bin later in the week outside (where cleanup will be a little less scary). Even here, the boys are developing fine motor coordination, spacial awareness, transferring and pouring skills, a bit of math and plenty of practical life-skills when it comes to sweeping up spills!

Dramatic Play is something that has seemingly faded almost into extinction in many early learning centers and homes alike. The push toward early academics has replaced kitchen sets with worksheets and playtime with "work time." More and more, children are struggling with the ability to engage in abstract and symbolic play and the result is not an increase in academic success, but rather an increase in behavioral, social and developmental challenges. While all things require balance, a well set up dramatic play theme encompasses opportunities to develop academic skills in a language children best understand: play! In addition to the skills noted above, children engaging in dramatic play also develop social skills like problem solving, role playing, conflict resolution and emotional awareness. They gain language and critical thinking skills. They work large and small muscles. And they do all of this in a natural environment. 

So now that I've got my soap box statement in praise of play out of the way, here's a peek inside our playroom and what you might add to your own Bakery:


Toy Food: We had some bakery themed toy food and ingredients, but you can also make your own from clay, cardboard, felt or craft foam. Our gingerbread men are actually just foam shapes from Dollar Tree's holiday crafts last year. Both my boys love using pom poms as play food. They have been everything from cupcakes to ice cream to pumpkins, apples and even coffee or tea.


Dishes, Tools and Utensils: Again, some are toys, but many are "the real thing" purchased from the Dollar Tree or secondhand shops. The nice thing about the bake ware from Dollar Tree is that it is a little smaller and perfect for small hands. We use and reuse it in dramatic play, sensory play and when preparing recipes for non-food doughs and slimes.

We just celebrated my husband's birthday over Shabbos and since this is a month of birthday celebrations for my husband and myself, I added a birthday party sub-theme to our bakery. In lieu of toy plates and cups, I added paper party plates, cups, hot cups with lids for hot beverages, plastic forks and spoons and even party tablecloth (cut to the size of our kids' table). All of these were purchased from the Dollar Tree and/or leftover from previous celebrations. S especially loves setting the table, so it's nice rather than setting up a table for the kids to let them do it themselves as part of their play.

Costumes: Every baker needs an apron and a chef's hat. We made our own chef's hats last year and had one in our dress up clothes as well. The boys decorated child sized aprons earlier this year as well that are perfect for work in our play kitchen or our actual kitchen. Child sized aprons and chef's hats are frequently available at Dollar Tree stores as well. You can also print and make role necklaces. I like the ones in the Bakery Dramatic Play kit I linked above or you and your children can create your own. You might also talk about different roles in a bakery like bakers, cashiers, customers, delivery personnel, etc. We have a "delivery truck" as well (our toy shopping cart, but you can also use a wagon or riding toy).

 Props and Accessories: You can include any of the following:

• cleaning supplies and tools
• potholders
• open/closed signs
• boxes (I used recycled produce containers and boxes with labels I printed last year)
• bags (I used leftover recycled gift bags with labels I printed last year)
• laminated party invitations and envelopes
• toy mailbox for mailing invitations
• DIY punch cards 
• hole punch or stamp for punch cards
• pens, pencils
• dry erase markers and rag/eraser
• printed menus and order forms (you can laminate them if you wish)
• sales signs or labels/stickers
• receipt books, customer order books (available in Dollar Tree stores)
• bentchers and/or laminated food blessings cards if you happen to be running a Kosher play bakery
• cash register if you have one, or you can use a calculator or computer keyboard
• play money (you can make your own as well)
• small clipboards and writing pads for taking orders

You can keep it is simple as you wish or get as detailed as your children inspire you to. If you're just starting out, less is often more. You can always add to the play scene later on as you get more ideas (or as your little ones do). Perhaps you'll visit a real bakery and have a look around! As we get closer to Chanukah, I'll be adding in some holiday props and activities and perhaps phasing out some of the birthday themed stuff. And while engaging in play with the boys will be both fun (hey, I like to play, too!) and helpful in learning about some of the novel aspects of baking and running a shop, I like to let them take the lead. I'll be in The Bakery if you need me...

Happy Playing!

Winter Break Survival Kit

Chanukah has come and gone and S's preschool is officially on winter break. This morning he asked me if he was going to school today and I explained that there's still another week of winter break left! He says he likes being at home but also misses school a little and I am thrilled! When I was teaching and S was a baby at home, I used to go crazy planning activities and filling the days of school vacation. Last year when I was pregnant with Y and home with S, I took those last weeks in December for some unplanned fun and play and that inspiration really followed me into this year. It sure is different to be home with both boys all day on many days and with the whole family on some days. The lack of routine feels both relaxing and slightly disorienting at the same time (what day is it anyway??) so I've decided to post some Winter Break Survival ideas that we've enjoyed so far in case you're looking for some inspiration in your own home.

Play Kitchen Remodel: Although we've since remodeled again in yet another toy rotation here, S and Y had a lot of fun before and during Chanukah with our bakery themed play kitchen remodel. Whether your dramatic play area and kitchen set are beloved or ignored by your children, a strategic remodel can be just what is needed to inspire some great hours (and days) of play!

We had a Chanukah themed bakery, complete with props and toys and costumes to inspire aspiring bakers of all ages. You definitely do not need to purchase specialty toys (though there are great ones out there). Some of our most beloved accessories are real cookbooks, dollar store kitchen accessories and DIY toys and props.

S loved our "sprinkles" and "sugar" shakers, a salt and pepper shaker (Dollar Tree) filled with white and colored dry rice from our sensory bin collection and taped shut to secure. He and Y both enjoyed the "oil" bottle (just oil and water in a recycled bottle also secured with tape.  A layer of clear packing tape on some empty Chanukah candle boxes and Chanukah cookie boxes and some recycled paper shoppoing bags and gift bags also made great accessories. S esepecially loved a collection of recycled plastic containers from berries that I taped a pretend bakery label to so he could pack up donuts and cupcakes and cookies to go!

Frying pretend wood circle latkes was a lot of fun. S also liked to pretend that these were cookies. I love including natural materials into the mix for some open ended play.

Real baking sheets and muffin tins (dollar store), gingerbread man cookie cutters from our sensory play collection, rolling pins, cupcake liners leftover from a Shavuos craft a couple of years ago and a small collection of little pom poms made for some very creative cookie and cupcake baking!

I included a variety of writing utensils, a toy cash register with play money, calculators, hole punches and a variety of notepads to incorporate a print rich and pre-writing friendly environment. S especially took to using a sticky note pad to write down orders and "mitzvah notes" for everyone. I also included a chalkboard slate and some chalk and a few free printables I'd collected and laminated over the years for menus. Since we don't live near kosher restaurants or bakeries or cafes, much of the experience is still foreign to my children. In these situations, it can be helpful to model through play how these items are used. It can also be exciting to see the ideas they come up with on their own! Again, we used mainly materials we had on hand at home with a few dollar store finds thrown into the mix (like an OPEN/CLOSED sign and actual receipt and order memo books).

We extended the activity to include some sensory play with this homemade Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread Cookie Playdough Bakery. I just followed my standard stovetop playdough recipe, doubling the recipe and dividing in half. To one half, I added a bit of vanilla essential oil and to the other half, a generous amount of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg. The smell was AMAZING (not good enough to eat, though I may or may not have caught glimpse of a certain preschooler double checking that theory before coming to the same conclusion). I added in some rainbow rice "sprinkles" and some of our favorite cookie cutters and kitchen set props for an afternoon of playdough bakery fun. This was an activity S requested to return to again and again!

 Playdough, is in fact, always an activity my preschooler wants to do. On one of the days of Chanukah, I gave each of my boys a few dollars of "gelt" to spend at the Dollar Tree. S quickly found the aisle with playdough and had a mathematical moment of wisdom after first picking three $1 containers of playdough and then seeing a 4-pack for $1, thereby saving his remaining two for a toy microphone and a bottle of bubbles. I know what you're all thinking--this playdough is going to turn all kinds of funny shades of neon until it finally meets its fate of preschool playdough brown (how is that not a color in the Crayola box of crayons yet?). I confess that I keep some of our store bought playdough for use only one or two chosen colors at a time, but I think there is value and benefit to letting little hands have at it. This is totally S's playdough and he loves it in every shade! Since we were still celebrating Chanukah, I threw some candles into the mix and he asked for the playdough factory tool and rolling pin and plastic knife. He was building all kinds of menorahs, lighting the candles and singing the brachos for days! Actually--even now that Chanukah is over, he is still playing about this! Yes, it's messy and colorful and takes time and effort to adequately clean up and organize, but it is a favorite activity here and winter break is the perfect time to make sure you can squeeze in plenty of playdough play opportunities. He's not just mixing colors, he's also developing fine motor strength and engineering skills to boot.

If you're feeling artsy-craftsy, here are some of the ways we've been having fun in our Art Center at home:

We had a lot of fun with this oil and food coloring marbled art activity from The Artful Parent before Chanukah began. The results of mixing oil with food coloring and water and dipping in card stock were beautiful! S also enjoyed the sensory experience of it and mixing and swirling the colors in a tray. It's a bit messy and takes some time and adult or older sibling involvement, however we really enjoyed the process and many people enjoyed the results, which we used to create handmade cards for family and friends.


Speaking of handmade cards...do you have a collection of your kids' artwork you're looking to recycle? Do you have thank you's to write or gifts still to send? We had a lot of fun creating handmade note cards for holiday greetings and note card sets as gifts for my son's teachers. I bought a bulk pack of blank greeting cards and envelopes available at craft supply stores and a large hole punch to create the center shape out of recycled artwork from each of the boys. You could also just hand-cut a rectangle or shape. We glued the art into the center of the blank cards and they came out beautifully, if I do say so myself!

Our Art Center is always a busy place these days. S really liked this Chanukah themed "secret message" activity, though you can incorporate a winter theme or any other one for that matter. Simply use a white crayon to draw a "secret" picture or message on some white paper or index cards (kids can do this, too, just make sure you encourage dark, thick marks) and include some do-a-dot markers or even watercolor paints and water to reveal the top secret message!

S has also been into creating bookmarks lately as we are reading aloud some short chapter books at bedtime. He loves making them as gifts and for us to use at home. In this little "bookmark making bin" I included some blank bookmarks (I bought these at a craft supply store in bulk, but you can cut your own from card stock), scissors and embroidery thread for making tassels and a collection of winter themed foam stickers and gems. There are a lot of ways to decorate bookmarks using stickers, gluing on papers for collage, coloring, painting, even the "secret message" activity listed above. Have fun and enjoy some good reading when you're done!

Our U-Pick-a-Project Basket is back and loaded with leftovers from the end of holiday season last year. A collection of inexpensive craft kits and science kits are a great way to fill some down time. Just this morning, S painted a snowman sun-catcher and helped set up a grow-your-own crystal snowman. It may not be snowing outside here, but we're thinking about it indoors, for sure! I collect these little kits when they go on discount or as I see them at our local dollar store.

Got wrapping paper scraps? We did and we had a lot of fun using them for tearing and cutting and playing in our sensory table. S loves to cut paper and tear paper. It's a great way to practice these skills and develop those fine motor muscles while not just throwing away the results. We also like to use these scraps in collage activities or on clear contact paper.

Paper tearing and shredding in an intentional environment also helps to channel that desire when it crops up in less preferred environments (like with artwork that is intended to remain in one piece or with books). You can add in some recycled cardboard tubes or scoops for some great sensory play as well.

 One of my favorite types of pretend play is small world play--using small toys and objects in dramatic play. I recently took up yet another profitless hobby, painting wooden peg dolls, and created a set to look like each member of our family. I love how it inspires S to play--particularly as he works through feelings about having a sibling or his Tatty going to work, etc. I also love that we have dolls that actually look like us! We have been enjoying this Winter Wonderland Small World Play Scene for the past few days here. I included a large swatch of sparkly white felt I had from last year, some winter themed props (these are highly discounted after the holidays) some arctic animals, a "skating rink" (metal tray), some "ice" (glass gems) and, per S's most recent request, some miniature food. He goes back to this activity again and again and plays with it in new ways each time. We are having a great time with it!

Whatever you're celebrating this season, I hope you're enjoying time with family and loved ones. From our little family to yours, Happy Playing!