The preschool 2 classroom environment at RisingOaks Early Learning | Oak Creek is always adapting alongside the children’s evolving interests. One of the areas that we notice a lot of engagement in is our dramatic play area, which is thoughtfully equipped and arranged with materials and spaces based on children’s interests, ideas, and observations.
One afternoon, one of the preschool children suggested that we transform our dramatic play area into a Chinese restaurant. “I want to make the kitchen a Chinese restaurant” was his specific request. Educators collaborated with the child and other children in the room to plan and design a Chinese restaurant. “I want dumplings in the restaurant” one child explained. “I want some rice!” another child added. We used a combination of wooden vegetables, printed food items, and loose parts to construct our restaurant, being resourceful of what we had on hand. One of the highlights of the grand opening of our restaurant was the pretend noodles that we had made out of yarn. “Look! Noodles! I’m going to make a noodle smoothie!” One child said with excitement in his voice and a huge smile on his face. Another child gathered some noodles and pretend sesame balls and explained “this is just like Grandma’s house!”. Another interest among the group was the chopsticks that we added to the environment. The children practised holding and utilizing the chopsticks in their pretend play, offering rich learning opportunities extending past the motor skill benefits. The chopsticks were familiar to some children, and unfamiliar to others, opening up conversations about cultural awareness, creativity, and meaningful learning experiences. We also made pretend rice for the restaurant by cutting yarn into smaller pieces, which definitely ended up all over the kitchen floor and beyond. Although this added a few extra minutes to our clean up routine, the magic that emerged from the children’s play with the rice made it well worth the temporary mess.
Many adventures have taken place in our Chinese restaurant, with several chefs, servers, baristas, guests, customers, and spectators clocking in, stopping by, and rolling through. Educators have watched in wonder and delight as the children expand their vocabulary, strengthen endless developmental skills, and build their appreciation for diversity and inclusion. We look forward to making many more memories and connections in our dramatic play area as we continue to provide a wide range of experiences for the children to explore through play in our program.
