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Valentine Shop: Candy and Cards! {Dramatic Play}

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Inspired by the book, Pigs in Love, we decided to set up a Valentine’s Day Shop for some dramatic play fun!  Of course, when I envisioned the Valentine Shop, I was picturing pink banners and purple tulle and tissue paper flowers.  What we ended up creating looked like this:

Valentine Day Shop

Valentine Shop

A simple flannel sheet draped over a 6 foot long table.  Classic.  Easy. And apparently totally acceptable for 3 year olds.

I made a few signs to advertise what we were selling at the shop: Candy and Cards.

Valentines Day

There’s also a little “Valentine Shop” sign so we could practice “V is for Valentine’s Day”.

Valentines Day

I had picked up some little boxes at the Dollar Tree the other day for some other project that didn’t end up working out, so I was thrilled to be able to actually use these things!  We pretended the boxes were filled with chocolates and candy (naturally!).

Valentines Day

We also made cards really quickly out of construction paper.

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After the shop was all set up, we took turns being shop owners.   Even the stuffed animals stopped in to buy candy for the people they loved.  🙂  If your kids are a little older, this would be a great opportunity to practice money skills.  If they are younger, you can use this for some counting practice.  For example, pass out 5 pennies to each kid and have them spend their money at the shop (1 cent for a card and 3 cents for some candy).

Valentines Day

The kids just loved this activity, and I have to admit, I was having a lot of fun playing along with them as well!  Chipmunk is just crazy about Valentine’s Day now!

Things to Check off Your List:

  • Recognizes circles and squares (ask kids about the shapes of the containers as you are playing)
  • Counting
  • Recognizes empty and full
  • Follows simple directions
  • Turn taking

Coordinating Toddler Activity

Got a little one who wants to join in the fun?  This is a great activity for the whole family to participate in.  You might want to show your toddler the shop before actual play begins in an attempt to familiarize them with how the “shop is run”.

More Valentine Activities We’re Hoping to Try!

About the Author

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Lindsey Whitney is a blogger over at Growing Kids Ministry.  A blog designed to help parents, teachers, and Children’s  Ministry workers who want to help the kids they love grow in their faith.   You can connect with her via twitter or on facebook.

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