🧸 Play & Pretend
Restaurant Day
Open a pretend restaurant and take each other's orders out loud.
12 min🔵 Expanding Language
Goal
Practice requesting, ordering and polite phrases.
🎨 Maya is here today
Maya is drawing along with you, tell her what colors you'd use.
💡 Why this matters
Pretending lets children rehearse real life safely, try new words out loud, and speak as somebody braver than they feel.
How to play
- 1Name your restaurant and make a menu together.
- 2One is the server, one is the customer — order out loud.
- 3Swap roles halfway.
Example conversation
Child: Welcome! What would you like?
You: I'd like pancakes with extra syrup, please.
Extra questions
- What's today's special?
- How much does it cost?
- What if we're out of pancakes?
Skills practiced
- ✔ Pretend play
- ✔ Vocabulary
- ✔ Turn-taking
Materials needed
Toy food or a scribbled paper menu (optional).
❤️ Parent tip
Let your child lead, even when the story makes no sense.
Try it during
- 🧸 With stuffed animals
- 🧱 With blocks
- 🍳 With kitchen toys
- 📦 With cardboard boxes
- 👗 Dress-up clothes
- 🌳 Outside in the yard
Same activity, many moments — pick whichever fits your day.