Dramatic Play Restaurant
Hey! Let’s pretend! A Dramatic Play Restaurant is definitely a place where your students can pretend!
Preschoolers need to dream and imagine. They need to dress up and role play. They need to problem solve, think, and create.
Dramatic Play provides plenty of opportunities for children to work on language development, social skills, and critical thinking. But the main thing about this center is just playing and having FUN!
Role Play in a Familiar Setting
When my preschoolers were learning about the state of Georgia, I decided to transform our homeliving area into THE GRILL Dramatic Play Restaurant!
Our version of THE GRILL was based on the world famous VARSITY restaurant in downtown Atlanta!
The VARSITY is known for chili dogs, onion rings, and creamy frosted orange drinks. Customers can be served in a crazy, fast-paced indoor setting. On the other hand, some prefer to stay in their vehicle and order curb service.
Either way, it’s a real treat to visit this Georgia icon and one I knew most of my students would be familiar with.
Setting Up the Restaurant
I was fortunate to get tons of VARSITY props for our classroom restaurant.
The VARSITY manager donated everything I asked for when he learned it was for a group of preschoolers! He gave us paper plates and cups as well as logo hats and food boxes!
Throughout my years of teaching, I’ve discovered it’s okay to ask if you need something. Simply explain you’re a teacher and what you need. Most businesses are thrilled to help!
But don’t forget parents have connections that can help you get great donations, too.
Many things you need when you set up THE GRILL are already in your classroom.
We filled the food baskets with hamburgers, hotdogs, and buns. These were discovered in the preschool resource room. Then we found all the fixings including cheese slices, lettuce, and tomatoes, too. We also had sides of French fries and onion rings.
THE GRILL Hamburgers & Hotdogs Dramatic Play is a resource that will help you easily change the traditional homeliving setting in your classroom into a colorful, engaging restaurant! Your class will absolutely LOVE playing, working, and learning at THE GRILL!
Learning Through Play
There are all sorts of signs for your little entrepreneurs to use while they pretend! Students can practice literacy and math skills as they play, too.
In addition, colorful picture pages for labeling everything at THE GRILL are included! These are super for vocabulary development. I like to put the cards in a small pocket chart in the Dramatic Play restaurant so students have easy access to them. You’ll find several pages of themed papers so your class can write the words or draw the pictures.
I’ve included a step by step guide so you’ll know exactly how to set up this dramatic play restaurant!
Meanwhile, I hope you’re hungry for a hamburger or hotdog!
