I remember one spring I was struggling with spring dramatic play center ideas. I finally settled on a school theme. I set out some favorite books from the year (easy, repetitive stories), a few simple big books, and added a pointer for the “teacher” to use. Then I stepped back and watched. The students loved it! As I watched them play, it was like looking in a mirror – they had adopted my teacher language and mannerisms. I kept hearing “One, two, three – eyes on me. One, two – eyes on you.” and “Criss-cross applesauce.” It was hard not to laugh (and a good reminder to always be mindful of how I phrase things!)
Eventually, we added a calendar, so they could repeat that key classroom routine in their teaching. Then they asked for blank paper to use for writing time in their school, and to write out math problems. This became one of my favorite spring dramatic play center ideas ever – and one of the simplest to create!
I loved setting up a pretend school in the early spring because my kindergarten students understood how school “worked” by then. They knew what routines to dramatize and how to solve problems that happened in a school setting. But, if you don’t want to do a school theme, there are many other spring dramatic play center ideas. Keep reading as I shared details about setting up a school, a flower shop, and Easter egg hunt, and a pet shop. All of these themes are perfect for your housekeeping center in spring.
School:
By spring your students have been in school for a long time. They understand how school “works” and are eager to pretend to be the teacher. Capture this excitement in a school-themed dramatic play center. This has always been one of my favorite pretend play themes, because it is so much fun watching the students “teach” each other! A pretend school is easy to set up because you have most things you need already in your classroom.
Supplies needed:
- big books/charts/posters
- pointer (to lead the class in shared reading)
- a pretend calendar (to go through the calendar routine)
- flashcards or other materials for math lessons
- a chair for the teacher
- leftover worksheets
- blank paper for making school work
- crayons and pencils for student work
Setting It Up:
To start, arrange the dramatic play furniture to create a “classroom.” Use the kitchen furniture as storage shelves. Create a place for the “class” to sit on the floor and listen to the teacher. Hang a pretend calendar on the wall or on a chart stand and place a chair for the teacher nearby. If you have a kitchen table, “students” can complete their work at the table.
Keep It Organized:
Provide a large box or a small shelf for storing the “teacher’s” supplies (big book, pointer, flashcards.) If you use a shelf, you might label where the items belong, to prevent a mess. You will also want a small container to hold the student crayons and pencils.
How It Works:
One students acts as a “teacher,” while several other students serve as the “class.” The teacher reads stories, teaches math lessons, and supervises student work time. It’s so fun listening to the interactions among students in this center!
If you are looking for easy printables to include in the school center, check out the set in my store.
Flower Shop:
Nothing says spring like flowers. So when thinking about the perfect spring dramatic play center ideas, you should consider a flower shop. Your students will love creating flower arrangements and “selling” them to friends. As they play, your students will also practice color words and counting!
Supplies needed:
- plastic flowers
- plastic vases, cups or pitchers
- tissue paper or cloth (to wrap bouquets) – optional
- small cards (ex: index cards) for writing notes
- writing utensils
- pretend money and a cash register – optional
Keep It Organized:
Provide boxes or bins to store the flowers in. If you have a large number of flowers, you might store the flowers sorted by color. Label the boxes to simplify clean up. Also provide labeled boxes for the note cards, writing utensils, and tissue paper/cloth. (This flower shop kit includes labels, wall decorations, order slips, and note cards to further enhance your flower shop.) The vases (or cups or pitchers) can be lined up on a shelf.
How It Works:
Customers “order” some flowers, either by writing on an order slip or by describing their request to an employee. This allows students to practice writing or using descriptive words. When students receive their flower orders, they can add a note card for the recipient.
You can enhance your flower shop with printable order forms and signs using this flower shop kit.
Easter Egg Hunt:
Another great spring dramatic play center idea is an Easter egg hunt. It’s a perfect tie-in to this big spring holiday! Your students will love hiding and finding the Easter eggs in your classroom.
Supplies:
- plastic Easter eggs
- Easter baskets (or other small containers for collecting eggs)
- small notes or toys to put in the eggs – optional
Things to Consider:
Before you begin, you will need to decide whether you will limit space for the egg hunt. Depending on the size of your classroom, the number of students you have, and your classroom arrangement, you might limit the egg hunt to the dramatic play center. With a smaller class, you might allow students to hide eggs anywhere in the classroom. If you limit the egg hunt to the dramatic play area, be sure there are plenty of hiding places available (in the kitchen furniture, on a neighboring shelf or puppet theater, etc.) You might also leave a few boxes of pretend food and dishes in the kitchen to provide more hiding options.
Keep It Organized:
This center is pretty simple to organize. Provide shelf space to store the Easter baskets. Store the plastic eggs in a large plastic box or bin. If you add small toys to hide in the eggs, add one more box or bin to hold the toys.
How It Works:
One or two children hide plastic eggs while the other children close their eyes or play elsewhere. Once the eggs are hidden, the hiders give Easter baskets to several children who hunt for the eggs. After the eggs are found, children can trade roles.
Pet Shop
Spring is the season of new baby animals. Bring the animals into your dramatic play center in the form of a pet shop. Let your students “adopt” new pets: puppies, kittens, rabbits, birds, and more.
Supplies needed:
- stuffed animals
- a few small pet supplies (food dishes, leashes, etc.)
- boxes for “cages” (cardboard or plastic)
- price tags to put on the cages
Setting It Up:
You will want a shelf to store the animals on – you could use the kitchen furniture, puppet theater shelves, or another shelf. Some teachers create cages for each pet using cardboard boxes with yarn “bars.” If you want to keep it simple, the cages could be clear plastic storage boxes – or the pets can sit nicely on the shelf next to their price tag. One or two children will work in the pet shop while other children shop.
Keep It Organized:
If you have just a few pets, you can give each them their own cage or shelf space. Label the space to make clean up easy. If you have many pets up for adoption, you might simply store them in large bins, based on animal type (all the dogs in one box, the cats in another.) You might also provide one labeled box or shelf to store all the pet supplies – again, with the goal of making clean-up easy.
How It Works:
Customers come in and pick out a pet. You can have students create student name tags and adoption forms, in order to incorporate reading and writing in the center.
As you can see, there are so many spring dramatic play center ideas! So choose something that matches the interests of your students and/or the content you are teaching right now. Consider a school, a flower shop, and Easter egg hunt or a pet shop. These suggestions will get you started.
If you are looking for more creative themes for dramatic play check out my store. I have over 20 easy-to-create themes available. Each one includes signs, banners, and opportunties for student writing in the center. Your kids will love them!
Looking for other seasonal dramatic play centers? You can learn about dramatic play center themes for Christmas in this blog post. Stay tuned for posts related to other seasons!
