top of page

Puppet Show

I have a puppet theater and some puppets. So I put that out and let the kids make up their own stories. I set out chairs in the front for the audience, and we talk about what a good audience looks like (claps and laughs at appropriate times). I also have some nursery rhyme cards that have pictures on them. I set these out in the center to help the students that cannot think of their own story. Instead, they can choose one of the nursery rhymes to sing/act out for us.

Camping

I bought a little tent from Ikea a few years ago. At the camping center we have a tent with blankets, a little pond for fishing, a fire to roast pretend marshmallows and cook the fish for dinner. I also added binoculars so the students can go bird watching. I put a bucket with paper and markers out so the students can draw pictures of their own birds, bugs, and other forrest animals. Then I tape the animals they draw on the wall in our camping center. One year I even put out a CD player with camping noises and songs. We sat around the campfire and sang songs. I did make a rule that only two children are allowed in the tent at a time, and they must whisper at all times when they are inside the tent. A couple of my students started screaming inside the tent one year and just weren't acting appropriately for inside play time, and I found that having these rules REALLY helped. Sorry I don't have any pictures of it yet, I forgot to take some last year. 

Grocery Store

I limit the amount of items each student can buy to three items. One year I had someone buy everything in the store and it wasn't fun for the other students, so now we put a cap on it. It also forces them to count! 

Vet

Just like the Doctor DP center, but we put stuffed animals out for the patients.

Doctor's Office

Bakery

I usually put this DP center out in November. It just seems fitting because of the upcoming Thanksgiving/Christmas season. The students usually have food on the brain. In our Bakery, we sell cookies, cupcakes, and hot chocolate. I bought the cookie and cupcake set from Melissa and Doug. The kids like it because they can decorate the cupcakes with expo markers to be sprinkles. I also have mixing bowls and ingredients for students that want to pretend to make something. There is a menu telling students how much everything costs so we can add some math skills into the center.

Post Office

This is the perfect center for December because the kids can write and mail letters to Santa....and they are REALLY motivated to do so! I collect toy ads from the local stores and the students cut out things they want for Christmas. Then they glue them on a piece of paper and stick it in an envelope. Next they have to write who the letter is from and who it is going to on the envelope. I have envelopes taped on the wall that they can look at so they can address them themselves. Finally they go to the mailbox and stick it in the right box. I make sure to tell my students that this is just pretend, and when they are done they need to take their letter home to mail to the real Santa.

Ice Cream Store

As part of my Five Senses Unit, we go to the local ice cream store. I had a great idea one year to make an ice cream store for our DP center. The kids LOVED it. I made an ice cream machine like the one at the store out of a cardboard box. I cut a hole in the top, so the students actually dump "cream" into the machine. There is also a hole at the bottom to pull the ice cream out. I made ice cream by crumpling construction paper into balls. At the ice cream store we have four flavors of ice cream, waffle cones, regular cones, cherries, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

Community Helper Intro

I have a picture of each community helper. I pull them out of a bag one at a time and we discuss as a group who this person is, what they do to help us, and what tools they use. Then each student chooses their favorite community helper and creates a picture of them by using ripped construction paper and colored pencils. 

Dramatic Play 

I usually change the Dramatic Play center monthly. I try to make the center as independent as possible so that the students don't need any help from adults to play there. When I introduce a new Dramatic Play center, I model different people you can pretend to be. I model how to use all the tools/toys and I show how to clean up when you are done. Another important aspect of my DP center that helps the students keep it clean is I shadow all of the toys. For example, I have a table in the House DP center. On my table there are place settings with a plate, cup, and utencils. I traced each object and used contact paper to stick it to the table. Now the students know exactly where to put things when they are done. It also helps with matching. 

House 

This is the first DP center that I put out because I think it is the most familar for the students, so they need minimal prompting.

bottom of page