Celebrating A Birthday
We observed the children engaged in imaginary play in the kitchen area during play block. They were participating in play which involved familiar experiences. They shared their ideas about these experiences readily. The children were planning and baking cakes for a birthday party. We noticed that they were going to the art studio and choosing art supplies to bake their cakes with. Paper was cut with scissors into pie tins and candles were added as finishing touches on a cake. Their play was rich from their experiences and included many details. Invitations were written, decorations were created and of course, they sang the Happy Birthday song. To assist in their imaginative play we removed the play food from the kitchen area and added containers of craft materials: pom poms, feathers, jewels, yarn, buttons, and plastic ice cubes. Oh, a celebration was had by all who play here. For the past several weeks they have explored these loose parts in the kitchen area. The art materials have been sorted into muffin tins, the yarn has been cooked as pasta, pom poms have been carefully put inside bottles and used to ice cakes and so much more. The children's creativity brought their ideas to life. We also gave the children an opportunity to bake cupcakes. It is so important to give them these real-life experiences in the kitchen. They followed the recipe and of course, enjoyed eating them too. We also created artistic cakes in the art studio using styrofoam bowls and shaving cream. Oh my, what fun!!!! The blog: Preschool Play Time | Purposeful Play for Everyday had these fabulous cakes in a blog post. Enjoy the following photos which showcase the children's explorations as they celebrated "Little Guy's" birthday.
