Any Dramatic Play Ideas?

Question

Next month I am doing a farm/harvest theme in my classroom. I need some inexpensive (or free) ideas to change my dramamtic play area. Right now it's a simple playhouse (with a kitchen, table, chairs, etc). I'd like to make it a farm scene or something simmilar - but I'm not sure how.

I work with 3 and 4 year olds. When we studied the ocean, we made a beach scene. I even covered the kitchen with brown butcher paper to make it look like rocks. I brought in ocean props and clothes and the children loved it! I'd like to do something simmilar with the farm/harvest theme. Please give me any ideas you have - but remember they have to be free or very cheap ideas only! Thanks a bunch!

Answer 1

When I did this theme with my class I went to the eastern market (farmer's market) and got some straw and corn.  It cost me less than $5. Pumkins and squash are great accessoreis , and can be used ot tlak about what is grown on a farm or for cooking projects. I turned our homeliving dramtic play area into a fram by painting a picture of a barn on the wall. (on butcher paper) I put stuffed farm animals in the area too like pig and cow puppets.

We did a ton of other  cool projects like "milking a cow" (done with a rubber glove filled with milk. I poked holes in the finger so the milk would come out--the fingers were udders) We also made real butter from Heavy whipping cream Yummy! We even stuffed a scarecrow, we dressed him in an old pair of my jeans and t-shirt .It was a very fun  two weeks!

Theperpetualpreshool.com is a GREAT place to get ideas for almost anything (you might have to take the word "the" out of the address though, I always forget which way it goes)

Hope this helps! Have fun. This was my favorite theme to do with my kids. :)

Ps this was all done with three-year-olds and they LOVED it all.

Answer 2

I really liked the first answer you got that was great. To add to it could you maybe take a field trip to a farm or orchard? It is very good for children to see where their food comes form. We took the kids to an apple orchard and let them pick their own apples and then to a farm to see the animals and a pumpkin patch (the kids really loved it) Good luck !

Answer 3

I once made a vegetable garden for the children to "harvest" the vegetables. I made a large rectangle with large blocks then shredded green paper in the shredder and put that inside. Then I put in plastic vegetables, gave the children plastic rakes, gardening gloves and baskets. The children loved it and it's easy and probably uses things you already have. To further the whole fam theme you could also have a grocery store for the children to buy these harvested veggies!! Have fun!

Answer 4

If it is a typical playhouse area maybe you have some fake food and you could separate out the food that grows on the farm. You could put some brown butcher paper on the floor for a field and have the kids plant the "food" in the field.  Has some farming tools such as some gloves, shovel (maybe sand box toys), watering can, to help make the food grow. Some seeds or beans for planting. For farm animals how about some stuffed animals around the "farm". You can take the table and turn it upside down and put paper around the legs to make a pig pen, chicken coop (with plastic eggs) or other animal corral. If possible provide some dress up clothes overalls, cow boy/ farmer hat. How about a big surgical glove and blow it up like an udder and attatch it a construction paper cow on the wall for some milking or other farm chores? O.k. maybe that is too much, but it popped in my head and made me laugh.