5 Currant Buns...4, 3, 2, 1, 0!

Children's imaginative play has been supported alongside their numeracy with the introduction of a bakery in the home corner.
Children helped to set up the area, making signs and deciding on prices. 
Lots of scaffolded play was needed to support turn taking and we limited the number of children who could enter the shop at a time.
Natural resources as well as some fabric buns were introduced.
This enabled high quality talk to be supported. 
The team observed that the children needed some malleable materials, such as playdough to further enhance the quality of the play and exploration.
After some thought and ensuring it was a COVID-safe area the team decided:
A small, fresh batch of playdough would be made each day;
Children must wash their hands before they come to the playdough area;
Only two children at a time (they wear an apron and sit at the table) to minimise other cross contamination.
It has worked so well and actually the quality of paired play has been very rich.
We often work in small groups, large groups and 1-2-1 with children but this has reminded us the beauty of paired play so we will ensure this continues after the bakery is closed. 
As part of this work, children then were supported, looking at different bread recipes: they baked parathas, pretzels, gingerbread, doughballs, bread rolls and pancakes. 
These were enjoyed in school and some children took some home.