Work for the past several weeks has been focused around constructing a bakery. Children have been feverishly building bakeries in the studio as well as on the playground, subsequently filling them with delectable treats to share.
We were curious, apart from obvious palatable reasons, what was so intriguing for the children about a bakery? For this group, lovers of construction, was the excitement centered around the act of building the bakery, or “operating” it once completed?
What is a bakery?
It makes cakes, cupcakes and candy. – Avery
And donuts. – Jesse
We have to build a whole store. A room, roof, sides and a corner. – Avery
They don’t make cakes. We make a different food bakery. – Case
Why do you like playing bakery?
It’s fun. – Case
I love playing bakery all the time. – Tait
You eat donuts at a bakery. – Case
There are bakeries at stores. – Wes
I’ve been to Dunkin Donuts – it’s a bakery. – Jonah
If we made a bakery in Studio Yellow what would we need?
We need to build walls. Elliott
It has to open and close so people can come in and out. – Case
Ice cream. – Avery
Chocolate chip cookies. – Case
Banana bread. – Parker
Chocolate chip pancakes. – Tait
Cupcakes. – Case
Chocolate bars. – Charlotte
There’s menus in bakeries. – Case
Do you just take the food when you go to a bakery?
No, buy them. – Violet
Sometimes you bring them home, sometimes you eat them there. – Case
We need money. We could cut money from paper. – Elliott
Actually bakeries have money there. – Case
The children built a bakery out of blocks and began discussing the different roles people serve within a store.
I’m being the chef. – Wes
I’m making every kind of food. – Julia
And we need waiters. – Elliott
Waiters are to serve the people food. – Wes
The chef makes the food, puts it on plates and the waiters serve the food. – Elliott
I’m the waitress. – Jonah
This is where the delivery trucks stop. – Case
Given the level of interest and enthusiasm we decided to build on the children’s existing knowledge to extend this play even further. Perhaps we thought, rather than begin from ‘scratch’ each day, we could create a space within the studio specifically designated for our bakery. We provided those essentials, according to the children, as well as some ideas of our own. We presented them with a room, a corner, cash register and a work space and the children could build to suit as needed. It was not long before work was under way!
