Dramatic play is often a favorite activity in early learning programs. Little ones enjoy an opportunity to make believe and dress up as someone other than themselves. As educators, we know that dramatic or pretend play gives children a natural and fun way to practice important developmental skills, including problem-solving, empathy, collaboration, and listening.
Some dramatic play themes also incorporate foundational concepts in more academically oriented subjects. In this article, we share dramatic play themes that encourage children to tap into basic science and math STEM skills.
Below, you will find three science and nature-based dramatic play themes and learning ideas, each paired with a children’s book to enhance the STEM-focused dramatic play experience.
A farmer’s market-themed dramatic play center taps into young children’s curiosity about food and farming while offering them opportunities to engage in conversations and interactions that use numbers and mathematical concepts. To set up a farmer’s market in your classroom, you might arrange small baskets filled with items like pretend fruit, vegetables, eggs, and flowers. By including a pretend cash register or scale, you encourage children to practice their number skills by counting and measuring the items for sale in the market.
For further learning, pair this activity with the children’s book Edible Numbers: Count, Learn, Eat, a counting-themed book with realistic photos of the wide variety of fruits and vegetables that might be found at the farmer’s market.
A garden-themed dramatic play center invites conversations about how plants grow, while offering little learners a variety of engaging sensory experiences.
Set up your garden with pretend produce, flowers, and dirt, along with tools like shovels, watering cans, and gardening gloves that the children can use to plant and tend to their garden. For sensory bin gardens, shredded paper can be used as soil, or, if you’re feeling crafty, you might even use pieces of pool noodles to create rows of crops.
As children play, you can introduce them to basic mathematical and geometric concepts by talking with them about the shapes and sizes of the fruits and vegetables in the garden: Which fruits are round? Which of these vegetables is larger? You might also discuss foundational scientific concepts about gardening, such as the importance of food, water, and sunshine to help plants thrive.
This dramatic play center will pair well with the children’s book, From Seed to Plant, which introduces children to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination. The book includes colorful diagrams displaying a wide variety of seeds, the process that takes them from seed to plant, and the different parts of a plant.
You’ll find more garden-themed activities for early learners in this G2K article!
Many young children have a fascination with the ocean and life under the sea. A dramatic play theme that explores sea life can be a great way to build on some of their natural interests! Set up your dramatic play area by hanging blue paper (or fabric) on the walls to look like an ocean. Next, add stick-on fish and coral decals or stickers, and offer the children goggles and pretend cameras (the camera in the photo is made from a juice box and a camera lens made of cardboard). The children will love becoming explorers and discovering different types of marine biology as they learn about the animals that live in the ocean! If you have spare soda bottles on hand, you might use them to make fun DIY scuba gear for children to wear during their ocean exploration.
This dramatic play center will pair well with the children’s book, A Dive into the Deep, the story of a young girl who explores the depths of the ocean and discovers the amazing and diverse creatures that live within. You can find a read-aloud video (with fun sound effects!) of this story on YouTube.
The Benefits of Play-Based Learning 
