In my classroom, we have a Play Dough Bakery that stays in our classroom all year. This is a creative and fun way for kids to practice building the fine motor muscles they need for gripping a pencil and writing.
Children love to make play dough food and “serve” it to their teachers and friends.
Sometimes they create their own pretend-play restaurants, ice cream shops, bakeries, and pizza parlors using the Play Dough Bakery. I’ve even seen them write receipts for things they “sell”.
Make Your Own Play Dough Bakery
To make your own Play Dough Bakery, collect spoons, plastic knives or metal knives that are not serrated or sharp, cookie cutters, muffin tins, mini bread loaf pans, small cookie sheets, spatulas, rolling pins, pots and pans.
Many of these can be picked up at yard sales, second hand stores, or discount stores. This toaster rack came from an old, broken toaster and makes a great grill or oven rack for pretend play. A friend donated the George Foreman play dough grill.
These plates and bowls came from a dollar store. The ice cream scoop, which also came from a dollar store, is very useful for scooping play dough out of play dough containers.
I found the birthday candles on a recent trip to the Dollar Tree. These lasted a while, but if kids are prone to breaking the candles, you can use pegs from a pegboard set. Or buy a dowel rod from a craft store and cut it with a small saw. Dowel rods are inexpensive and come in a variety of sizes. You can also cut a thicker dowel rod to use as rolling pins. Just be sure to sand the ends.
Play Dough Resources
Check out these Play Dough Recipes to make your own. Find more Ideas for Playing with Play Dough here.
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My three-year-old loves play dough! We “bake” every day!
Some great ideas. I will pull things out for a bakery but haven’t left them out all the time. And I haven’t used candles to supplement play. Maybe a trip to the dollar store is in order.
Once year I made a math game for my P-K-ers using playdough and birthday candles. The children had to take a card with a number on it and add as many candles as the card said to their “birthday cake.”
I loved the idea! The kids had a great time learning through play. The director… thought adding candles to the activity was a safety concern and asked that we take the candles away! No fair!!
Have fun!
I do a similar thing (even have the Foreman grill) but I have found that colorful golf tees work well for candles- they don’t bread as easily )
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
Jen, I don’t understand the safety concern, since of course they aren’t lit. Sorry you couldn’t use them.
I have made “dough” using lots of flour, a little water and cinnamon powder. The children really feel like they are baking something. I have used the candles but found they break easily also. I like the idea of using the colorful golf tees!
We use old plastic Easter eggs so we you open them you can find play dough yellow yokes and whites inside…Also empty food boxes and jars we try to recreate what the food that came out of them look like in play dough.
Love the cinnamon dough idea, Rene!
Beth, I’ve done Easter eggs with play dough, too– fun! Love the idea for empty food boxes & jars– I hadn’t thought of that!
I love this idea. Just today someone was asking for a “pan” to bake the playdough cookie she had just cut out. We have the cookie cutters, rolling pins, etc. but not the pans. Thanks for sharing!
I also have added foam shapes and small silk flowers for cake decorating I love this idea. We bring it out every time we have a birthday. 🙂 .
my kids like using a white enamel pot, turned upside down for a cake. they use magnetic letters to spell things on the cake and I put candles in a little bit of playdough and let it dry to make a “base” so the candles will stand up for them…they love it!
Thanks for sharing!
Karen, where did you get the item that the little boy is holding in the first photo? It looks like you close the lid to press the play dough into the food shapes. I haven’t seen anything like it, and it looks fun!
Regina,
That is a play dough George Forman grill. A friend of mine donated it to our class when her child came to Pre-K.
I couldn’t help but think of you and your play-doh bakery when my children made sea creatures with play-doh and the items they found on the beach. Love engaged, creative learning that comes from the children!
http://waddleeahchaa.com/2010/05/26/play-doh-sea-creatures-learning-at-its-finest/
My daughter was baking away this morning with her play-doh!
Karen, where do you set up the playdough bakery in your room?
Our play dough things are set up in the art center.