Age
⚙ 3 years and up
Time and Place
⚙ Any time of day
⚙ Any time of year
⚙ Indoors or outdoors
Materials
⚙ Furniture or other items (e.g., boxes, baskets) to create display areas
⚙ An abacus or toy cash register
⚙ Items for sale (e.g., plastic fruits and vegetables, clothing, shoes)
Optional Materials
⚙ Writing utensils
⚙ Paper
Safety
⚙ Supervise children at all times
⚙Be aware of choking hazards (i.e., small items)
Instructions
When children demonstrate an interest in pretend play about stores, assist the children to design and set up their own store and carry out purchases and sales
Questions You May Ask
⚙What kinds of things do you want to sell?
⚙What groups can you sort your items into?
⚙ How can you design and set up your store to display your items?
⚙ What else does your store need?
⚙ How can you keep track of things you sell?
⚙ How many items am I buying? How many items have you sold altogether?
Related Children's Books
⚙Maisy goes Shopping by Lucy Cousins
⚙Our Corner Grocery Store by Joanne Schwartz
⚙Dinosaurs in the Supermarket by Timothy Knapman and Sarah Warburton
Play-based Context
A mother who was homeschooling her son noticed that he was playing with a cash register and pretending to sell things. She decided to support his play by providing objects for the store (e.g., items to sell, writing utensils and paper, a table for display). She helped him to design and set up a play store in the stairwell.
