Order Up! Real Snack Shop

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Inspired by: Niko Niko’s Greek Diner
Recommended Age: 36–60 months

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How this supports your child’s development:
• Emergent Literacy (seeing/using print: menus, order slips, receipts)
• Math (counting items/tokens, comparing prices, making change)
• Executive Function (planning roles, following multi-step sequences)
• Language & Social (polite phrases, clear requests, turn-taking)
• Autonomy (taking responsibility for a real job)

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At-Home Setup & Instructions:
1. Gather & Make Together: With your child, collect paper, crayons/markers, coins/tokens, a few snacks or play food, and a small tray. Draw a picture menu with prices (e.g., apple = 1, cheese = 2).
2. Choose Roles: Customer, Server, Chef, Cashier. Rotate each round.
3. Take the Order: Customer points/reads from the menu; Server repeats and marks an order slip (check boxes, circles, or scribbles).
4. Prepare & Serve: Chef counts the correct amounts and plates the order; Server delivers with, “Here you go!”
5. Pay & Compare: Cashier collects tokens, counts aloud, and gives change if needed. Try a special (combo price) to compare totals.

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Parent Tip
Joining in to make menus, take orders, and count coins nurtures early literacy/emergent reading (seeing and using print) and math skills (counting, comparing). Pretend play also builds vocabulary, teamwork, and problem-solving. These are all key ingredients for school readiness.
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Encourage your child to:
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• Use full sentences when ordering (“I would like...”).
• Compare (“Which is more, cheese or apple?”).
• Play different roles: switching roles builds empathy and perspective-taking.

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