Pretend play: Restaurant

We're doing more and more pretend play.  Whether it be camping under blankets or laying on the beach with our beach towels INSIDE while looking out the window at 10 feet of snow.  We're actually traveling right now, as you will see from the picture below, we're away from the snow.

The great thing about pretend play is that you really don't need to buy any supplies.  We work with what we have and that sometimes means thinking outside the box, which I believe we have done with these laundry basket tables. 

We also used real food (bread, cheese, and water), a bread basket, spoons, paper plates, and napkins.  The server station had a pitcher of water for refills, a computer to enter orders, paper and crayons.

We also had a host (ess) desk with a "Host (ess) will seat you" sign, menus, and a map of the restaurant so the host (ess) knew which tables were available.

You could add so much to this dramatic play theme such as a chalk board to write the specials, table cloths, uniforms for the staff, and of course play money.  It's all about being creative and using your (their) imaginations.

- Michelle