Bernard Super Cuts Salon

We have turned our dramatic play area into a beauty salon

The children took turns being the beautician and the customer

Wash Station

We turned the kitchen sink into the hair washing station.  We had empty bottles of shampoo and conditioner and small towels that the children could wrap around their heads just like at the salons.

Drying Station 

We turned two bowls upside down and taped them to dry erasable board and placed two chairs under each one.

Waiting Area 

On the small table between the chairs we have hair magazines that they can look through before they have their hair done.

Receptions Desk 

This area if for making appointments and paying for products and services

Manicure Station 

The children used water color paints to paint one another finger nails.   

Shelves of Items to be used in the Bernard Super Cuts Salon

Price List 

Let the fun begin 



F is for Frogs

Frog Pond Water Play

Cut out a supply of lily pads out of craft foam, add plastic frogs and small fish nets to the water tables or water tubs.

Jump Frog  Jump book with props

Find different items such as bean bag toys and small soft dolls to create a story tell kit for the children to retell the story on their own.

Color Frog Sorting Mats 

Make a supply of color mats for the children to sort all the different color frogs with.

Five Little Frogs Story Telling Glove 

Make a story telling glove out of craft foam and wiggle eyes.

Jump Frog Jump Color Floor Game  by Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers 

Counting Frog Math Mats   by Kids World Exploration 

Props for the Circle Time    by Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers

Frog Art   by Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers 

Veterinarian Prop Box

The children spent the day pretending to be veterinarians. We learned a lot of new vocabulary words with our prop box (stethoscope, vaccination, flea, tick, leash, kennel, groom, and collar). I enjoy bringing out different prop boxes to spark the imagination. Every time you bring out that box something new will come from it.

Here is what’s in our box

Roll Bandages, Disposable Masks, Small Stuffed Animals, Stethoscope, Pet Grooming Tools, Dog leash, Dog Collars, Dog Bones/Milk Bone Box, Cotton Swabs, Food/Water Bowls

B is for Bones

We wanted to give the children an opportunity to explore bones like paleontologists, scientist that study dinosaur bones.

We sat out trays of cleaned chicken bones and bared them in clean play sand.  We placed magnifying glasses and small paint brush for the children to brush away the sand with, just like paleontologists do.  As they found the bones we had them place the bones on mates to see if they could figure out how the bones went together to form a skeleton. 

How to clean Chicken Bones

We boiled the chicken bones until all the meat and cartilage cooked off. Next we scraped the bones to get any remain stuff off the bones. Once the bones were clean we then placed them in a solution of bleach water and let them soak for about 30 minutes. We rinsed and placed them in the sun to dry.

Once you have gone through all the hard work they will last you for several years to come.

Mail is in the Air

With valentines around the corn the children have been really interested in sending cards and mail to their friends and staff in the office.  To help them with this experience we set up a post office by the writing area. 

We included ink pads with stamps so that they could cancel out the postage as it came through the post office.  We add a balance scale so the children could weigh the mail before they delivered it.

We placed out different colored house boxes with address so that the children had to sort and mail the mail to the right address.  We have 3 house boxes (yellow, blue and purple).

The children had to deliver the mail (yellow, blue and purple mail) to the right address, by placing the mail in the right colored boxes.

To keep the learning fun going we made an area outside that they could continue the mailing things to their friends.

Making Learning Fun

Winter Prop Box

We are back from break and all the children can do is talk about how they went to the snow and made snow people, had snowball fights, went tubing down the hills and made snow angles.  So if that is all they can talk about why not just join them and bring out all the winter cloths from our prop box. 

This way the children that did not get to have those experiences over the break got to have them as well.  So we…

So we pulled and tugged on boots,

Wrap scarves on, and found all of our fingers in the right holes of our gloves. 

Snow People Props

Make some snow people for story telling props.  Help all those winter songs come to life with these cut little snow people.  They will keep the children’s interest when you do those fun snow people songs and make the song more meaningful.  I made a set of five different snow people.  Here is what I did.

You will need…

• 5 white tub socks

• 10   3 inch Styrofoam balls

• Rice

• Rubber bands

• Fishing line

• Buttons

• Ribbon

• Scrap Fabric

• Pom Poms

• Glue Gun

• 1 small plastic cup

Cut the bottom of the cup out.  Use the cup as a funnel to put the rice in the bottom of the sock.  I used 1 cup of rice for each snow person.

It should be larger than the foam balls. 

Stack 2 foam balls on top of the rice.  Use a rubber band to tie off the top of the sock.  Put the rubber band as close to the top of the last foam ball as you can.  Next use the fishing line around the sock and between the two foam balls.  I wrapped the line around the sock about 4 times and then tied it in a knot.

Twist the top of the sock and then fold it down to make a hat shape on the top of the snow person. You are now ready to embellish your snow people as you see fit. Have fun and make them all different.



Remember if you have young children that will pick off the items you can sew them on so that they can not be removed. The hot glue keeps them on pretty tight. They have to really work at it in order to get them off.


If you feel real ambitious you could make a set for the block area as well. You will be surprised at the story telling that will happen amongst them when you add items like this to your center areas.

Turkey Time

It is always fun to bring a holiday twist to finger play songs by just changing a few works to fit what you might be teaching about.  Here are a few songs that will go along with Thanksgiving and turkeys.

 Five Little Turkeys (song to the tune Five Little Ducks)



Five little turkeys went out to play
Over the fence and far away
Mother Turkey called gobble, gobble, gobble
And only four little turkeys
Came waddling back


Four, Three, Two, One


Lonely mother turkey
Went out one day
Over the fence and far away
The lonely mother turkey said
Gobble, gobble, gobble
And all the five little turkeys came waddling back.




Five Little Turkeys


Five little turkeys by the barn door,
One waddled off, then there were four.

Four little turkeys out under the tree,
One waddled off, then there were three.


Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
One waddled off, then there were two.


Two little turkeys in the noonday sun,
One waddled off, then there was one.


One little turkey - better run away!
Soon will come Thanksgiving Day!

Crafting for Teaching



I always enjoy making prop that will help enhance the children experience.




Here is what you will need:


Brown knitted glove from Target or Wal Mart (2 pairs for $1.50 right now)
Light Brown felt sheet
Dark Brown felt sheet
Orange Craft Foam sheet
Wiggle Eyes
Crafting Feather
Card Stock

First I cut out 5 circles about the size of a 50 cent piece out of the light brown felt



Next I cut out 5 circles about the size of a dime from the dark brown felt

I glued the tips of craft feather to the back side of the light brown felt and placed a card stock circle on top of the feather to bind them between the felt and card stock. This gave it a good stock body. Next I glued the dark brown felt circle to the top of the light brown felt circle and added the wiggle eyes and triangle shaped craft foam. Once I had all the turkeys made I attached Velcro to the backs of each turkey and the other half to the tips of the fingers on the glove.


Watch the children enjoy hearing the finger play song over and over again.

Portable Writing Centers

When children have the opportunity to write in many areas of your classroom they build knowledge that print has meaning.  This go anywhere writing center could end up in your construction area where you will see children drawing what they just built or they might make a blue print of their creation so that they can create it again.  Children will want to bring it outside where they might write the world’s best recipe for mud pie.  Always remember to include writing in the child’s play and the go anywhere writing center is an easy and effective way to do just that.

Create a writing center that can go anywhere.  This go anywhere writing center was made out of a tool bag that we found at Home Depot.  Around the outside pockets we placed different writing tools (felt tip markers in large and small, colored pencils, ball point pens, milk pens and chubby pencils).  In side we placed clip boards, writing pads, variety of paper, post it note pads, lap boards with dry eraser markers and file note cards. 

Portable Office Writing Center

Place items in an old briefcase. What we have in our briefcase: Phone, Telephone Book, Key Boards, Planning Book, Desk Calendar, Pen/Pencils/Markers all in a plastic box, Phone Message Pad, Envelopes, Junk Mail, Stamp Pad/Stamps, Stapler, Tape Dispenser, and lots of writing pads.

Open for Business

We have had the farmers market open in the dramatic play house all month.  The children have been learning about how to weigh food, how much things cost and how to make change with their money.

Setting up the cash register and getting ready for business.

Shopping items on their grocery list

Waiting in line to make purchase

Making change

Prop Box Play: 50 Themes to Inspire Dramatic Play (Gryphon House Book)