Monday, September 2, 2019

4 Fun Fall Ideas For Your Dramatic Play Area




Kids LOVE to pretend. Studies show it helps them grow their mind and relate to the world around them. Children often like to pretend play the things they do in their life. These can be day to day things, but those big things stick out too. This time of year, families are spending plenty of time picking apples, visiting pumpkin patches, celebrating Halloween, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and the farm fields are golden from the harvest (at least here in Iowa). Since I know how my daycare kids are spending their time at home and with their parents, it's often fun for them to do those "big things" at daycare too.

Since I'm a non-transport daycare, we just have to bring those things to us! By creating our own apple orchard or pumpkin patches, not only do the kids get to help create these areas, but I also cater to the type of kiddos I have currently in daycare. Some kids like to do "big play" using themselves in play. Others prefer to use figurines or dolls to reenact their experiences. Offering a good mixture to all is important.


1.) Apple orchard


Kids help to create our trees; velcro tabs on the plastic apples; boom apple trees for apple picking. Plastic apples and a register to buy apples. Dolls, baskets, bags, and more to act out whatever they wish. 

2.) Pumpkin patch


Use real or fake pumpkins, little wagons, baskets, bags, and a couple of games (bag toss is a great one) can round out your patch. I go a little further and add hay bales, scarecrows, and corn stalks. * yes, your vacuum will be destroyed by the hay in your house.



3.) Haunted house

Have a playhouse or two around? Fake spiderwebs, fake spiders, skeletons, clings, and other Halloween decorations can turn a regular play house into a haunted house.



4.) Farm house/Harvest

That same playhouse can be turned into a farm house. Add some animals, have corn picking, and bountiful fruits and veggies for cooking in the farmhouse kitchen.

* I actually have not done this one yet (coming beginning of November). However, checking Pinteresst, there are PLENTY of ideas to do your own. Check it out.

+ 1 Extra:

 Thanksgiving kitchen and table. There's an adorable Thanksgiving food playset that can be used in a play kitchen, along with a table and all of the settings. Kids can play Thanksgiving the whole month of Thanksgiving with these tools! If your lucky, you may get a view like this (of kids telling each other what they're thankful for) without any prompting.