Incorporate Literacy and Play with a Gingerbread Bakery Center

Are you looking for a fun, engaging way to spark writing, reading, and play in December? Transform your dramatic play area into a Gingerbread Bakery and watch your students dive into learning through play — and you’ll barely break a sweat prepping it!

Why It Works

• Using real pictures (not just clip art) helps your students make real‑world connections to vocabulary, tools, and roles in the bakery.

• Dramatic play is perfect for early learners to practice vocabulary, social skills, fine motor skills, and writing through play.

• This setup makes it easy for you: print the signs and labels, add props you already have, and you’re good to go.

How to Set It Up (in Just 15‑Minutes of Prep!)

1. Print and laminate: a Bakery banner, real‑picture labels for items like rolling pin, cookie cutters, icing, oven mitt, etc.

2. Pull in your kitchen props: rolling pin, mixing bowl, whisk, cookie cutters, mugs for hot cocoa. Use pom‑poms for gumdrops, pipe‑cleaners for candy canes.

3. Create the role play setup: cash register or pretend money, “order here/pick up” counter, menu sign, job role necklaces (baker, cashier, customer). Add a writing extension: order forms for students to fill out, “How to bake cookies” differentiated worksheets and booklets for writing practice. 

How Students Engage and Learn

• Students take on bakery roles: customer, baker, cashier — they read menus, write orders, fill and deliver the order.

• They use real vocabulary: “whisk,” “sprinkles,” “rolling pin,” “gumdrop,” etc., building strong word knowledge through play.

• Writing is built in: students complete the order form, write ingredients or steps to bake cookies, craft a menu special.

• Social skills and fine motor skills are naturally practiced: sharing tasks, building ingredients, decorating cookies, cutting and sorting

Teacher Tip

Use this during your seasonal centers or during those weeks when you want purposeful play that feels fun but is meaningful. It’s perfect if you want students to be active learners, not just passive participants.