DIY Ice Cream Shop: Dramatic Play

Can you think of anyone who loves Ice Cream more than children? This DIY Ice Cream Shop is so easy to make and a favorite within the preschool classroom. Play is so important for children to engage in as it meets many curriculum requirements including social studies, math, language, and science. Children develop skills in many of the domains through an engaging dramatic play center. Children develop physical skills (gross AND fine motor), cognitive skills (definitely!), social-emotional skills, and plenty of language.

Okay, I'm done ranting about the importance of Play. Let's talk about this Ice Cream Shop. I'm not going to lie, this project is definitely time consuming and can get a little expensive, it really just depends how creative you want to get with the project.

Materials Needed:

Trifold Poster board

A small heavy duty board

Plenty of construction paper

Ice Cream scoopers

Fancy Cups for milkshakes

Bowls in different sizes

Soda cups

straws

Pretend toppings (I used felt and yarn I had lying around)

Red Pom Poms for Cherries

Tissue Paper for Ice Cream

Hot Glue! Hot Glue! Hot Glue!

etc.

This is the part that you can really use any recycled materials you have lying around your home. For the stand, I used the trifold board and cut a rectangle out of the middle to make a window. I used the piece I cut out to create a counter with triangle pieces to hold it sturdy. The second board I had was used to make the shelves on the inside for the ice cream materials as shown below.

Once the stand is assembled, it's time to get creative. I made menus for the children that are posted on the side of the board and plenty of decorations to make it attractive! I created sheets for the children and laminated them so they could circle their ice cream creation. I will make a post soon about the different materials and ice cream so you can have more of a clear idea.

Take a look at this Pictures to get you started!

I hope these spark some ideas and get you thinking about your next dramatic play area!!

-Simply You by Sam