Ramen Noodle Shop Sensory & Dramatic Play Setup: Taste-Safe Sensory Play for Toddlers

Step into a world of imagination and hands-on learning with my Ramen Noodle Shop sensory and dramatic play setup! This ramen shop experience combines taste-safe sensory play with dramatic play elements, giving your little one the opportunity to explore textures, practice fine motor skills, and engage in pretend play. Let's take a look at the setup, step-by-step instructions for each sensory bin, and the learning benefits of this fun and interactive activity.

Ramen Shop Printable Decor

To bring the ramen shop to life, I’ve designed a set of printable decor, perfect for your play space. These printables are great for setting the scene and encouraging imaginative play.

• Ramen Shop Flag & Banner: Hang the flag and banner to mark the entrance to your ramen shop, inviting little chefs and customers inside.

• Shop Sign: The shop sign adds a personal touch, labeling your ramen stand as the best noodle shop in town!

• Awning: Add the printable awning over your setup for an authentic ramen shop feel.

• Menu: Display the ramen shop menu, listing the ingredients and ramen types your child can “prepare” in their noodle bowls.

Now, let's dive into the sensory play stations!

Sensory Bin 1: Make Your Own Bowl of Ramen

Materials:

• Cooked spaghetti (as ramen noodles)

• Hard-boiled eggs (cut in half)

• Frozen corn (thawed)

• Small bowls and utensils

Instructions:

1. Place the cooked spaghetti in the bin and separate the hard-boiled eggs and corn into smaller bowls.

2. Provide small bowls and utensils for your child to scoop noodles, eggs, and corn to create their ramen dish.

3. Encourage your child to add each ingredient to their bowl, exploring the different textures and practicing fine motor skills.

Learning Benefits:

Fine Motor Skills: Picking up noodles, scooping corn, and placing eggs require coordination and strength in small hand muscles.

Sensory Exploration: Children get to experience the texture of soft noodles, firm eggs, and cold corn, stimulating their sense of touch.

Imaginative Play: By pretending to make their own bowl of ramen, children engage in creative play, fostering cognitive development.

Sensory Bin 2: Cook the Ramen Soup on a Printable Stove

Materials:

• Printable stove cover (available in the ramen shop printable kit)

• Pots, pans, and ladles

• Water or a clear liquid substitute for “soup”

Instructions:

1. Place the printable stove cover over one of the small Trofast bins to create a pretend stovetop.

2. Fill pots and pans with water or a clear liquid substitute, and provide ladles for stirring.

3. Encourage your child to “cook” the ramen noodles and prepare a delicious soup by stirring the ingredients in the pots and pans.

Learning Benefits:

Problem-Solving Skills: Children learn how to simulate cooking, developing early reasoning as they navigate the process of preparing a meal.

Role Play: Pretending to cook fosters language development as children mimic real-life scenarios they observe in their own kitchens.

Coordination & Balance: Stirring the soup and transferring ingredients from the pot to the bowl challenges balance and hand-eye coordination.

Sensory Bin 3: Be the Ramen Shop Owner

Materials:

• Play cash register

• Play money

• Ramen bowls and utensils

Instructions:

1. Set up a small bin with a cash register and play money for your child to pretend to be the ramen shop owner.

2. Once a customer (you or another child) has created their bowl of ramen, they can take it to the register to pay for their meal.

3. Have your child practice counting out money and giving the correct change.

Learning Benefits:

Math Skills: Handling play money introduces basic math concepts like counting, addition, and subtraction.

Social Skills: Role-playing as the shop owner helps children practice communication, turn-taking, and customer service.

Imaginative Play: Running a ramen shop encourages creative thinking and helps children understand real-world roles and responsibilities.

Learning Through Taste-Safe Sensory Play

This ramen shop sensory play setup is a great way to introduce young children to new textures, role-playing, and early math skills in a fun and safe environment. Using taste-safe ingredients ensures that even if your little one decides to explore with their mouths, you can feel confident in the safety of the materials.

Vocabulary Words for Ramen Noodle Shop Play

Enhance your child’s language development by incorporating these vocabulary words into your ramen noodle shop play:

1. 1. Noodle

2. 2. Ramen

3. 3. Soup

4. 4. Bowl

5. 5. Spoon

6. 6. Ladle

7. 7. Corn

8. 8. Egg

9. 9. Shop

10. 10. Cash register

11. 11. Money

12. 12. Menu

13. 13. Order

14. 14. Customer

15. 15. Owner

16. 16. Stove

17. 17. Pot

18. 18. Pan

19. 19. Boil

20. 20. Steam

21. 21. Chopsticks

22. 22. Ingredients

23. 23. Broth

24. 24. Chef

25. 25. Receipt

With these engaging sensory bins and dramatic play elements, your child will have a blast pretending to run their own ramen noodle shop while practicing essential skills. From sensory exploration to role-playing and math, this setup encourages children to learn through play in a safe and stimulating environment. Don't forget to download the printable decor to complete your ramen shop experience!

By incorporating taste-safe sensory play, you provide toddlers with a hands-on learning experience that fosters curiosity, creativity, and cognitive growth. Happy ramen-making!

Rainbow oat dough

Playdoh is a classic and beloved toy that has been used for generations to promote creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. However, many traditional playdoh products contain synthetic ingredients and preservatives that may be harmful to children or have negative environmental impact.

An alternative to traditional playdoh is homemade playdoh made out of oats. Oat playdoh is an all-natural, non-toxic and eco-friendly option that provides many benefits for children and their families.

One of the main benefits of oat playdoh is that it is safe for children to use. Since it is made from all-natural ingredients, there is no risk of harmful chemicals or synthetic materials coming into contact with children's skin or mouths. Additionally, oats are known to be hypoallergenic, making it a great option for children with sensitive skin or allergies.

Another benefit of oat playdoh is that it is easy to make and can be customized to suit individual preferences. Oat playdoh can be made with ingredients found in most kitchens, such as oats, flour, salt, and water. It can also be flavored with natural extracts, such as vanilla or peppermint, to make it more appealing to children.

In addition, oat playdoh is an eco-friendly option, as it is made from sustainable and biodegradable materials. Unlike traditional playdoh, which can end up in landfills after being used, oat playdoh can be composted or even eaten.

Oat playdoh also promotes learning and development in children. Using it can help develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity, as well as encouraging creativity and imaginative play. Children can use it to create different shapes, models, and patterns, helping to develop their problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills.

In conclusion, oat playdoh is a safe, eco-friendly, and versatile alternative to traditional playdoh. Not only it is easy to make and customize, but it also promotes learning and development in children. It is a great option for families looking for a natural and sustainable play option for their kids.

Lesson Plan: Learning Colors of the Rainbow with Playdoh (For Toddlers)

Monday:

• Introduction to the colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

• Show flashcards of each color and have the children identify them.

• Introduce the playdoh, and have each child take a small piece of the natural playdoh in different colors, and let them explore the texture and color.

Tuesday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow and their associated names.

• Show a picture of the rainbow and have the children identify the colors in order.

• Small group activity: Have the children work in pairs to create different shapes and patterns using the playdoh in the colors of the rainbow.

Wednesday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow and their order.

• Introduce the concept of mixing colors to make new colors.

• Have the children mix different colors of playdoh together to create new colors and discuss the results.

Thursday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow, their order, and the concept of mixing colors.

• Hands-on activity: Have the children create a rainbow using the playdoh in the correct order of colors.

• Encourage the children to use their creativity and imagination to create different designs and patterns within the rainbow.

Friday:

• Review of the week's lesson on the colors of the rainbow.

• Have the children share their rainbow creations with the class.

• End the week with a class discussion on how understanding the colors of the rainbow can help children in their daily lives, such as recognizing different colors of fruits, clothes, and traffic lights.

Note: Each day's activities should be adjusted based on the children's age and development level. Also, activities should be adapted to include different modalities such as visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and tactile to make it more engaging for kids. Use of natural playdoh is recommended as it is non-toxic, safe and easy to clean up.

6 Taste Safe Toddler Valentines Activities

Valentine’s season is here and it’s so inspiring to see all of the adorable small shop goodies out to celebrate the love in the air. I’ve done so many Valentine’s Day Toddler activities that I figured it was time to do a little round up. Looking back, check out these awesome taste safe, Valentine’s Day inspired activities.

1. Moon Sand - This was super fund and super simple. Just ground up graham crackers, cornstarch and I think I used the opportunity to get rid of some cheerios.

2. Love Machine - Last year I was looking to get rid of some old boxes and pulled together this awesome little Love Machine using an empty wipes package, tops of baby food, empty boxes and some pink & red ribbon.

3. Heart Water Beads - Obviously water beads aren’t edible, so we cut a heart shape hole in a cardboard box and sealed the water beads inside with a plastic bag. This made it easy for Sofie to play and poke without getting messy or throwing beads around the room. Perfect for those 10-18month olds.

4. Cloud Doh - This doh is so easy to make and while sugary, you don’t have to worry about your toddler putting it in their mouth. Just mix frosting, cornstarch, and powdered sugar and you have the perfect doh!

5. Valentine’s Jello - Everyone forgets how easy Jello is to make and what a great sensory activity it is. We filled a baking pan with red jello and then I let Sofie use some hearts sprinkles on top to make it festive. She scooped in this tub mixing and stirring for hours!

6. Taste-safe Finger Paint - This one was by far the simplest to make, but not so fun to clean up. I’d recommend doing this one in the bath tub next time. But it’s super easy — just mix food coloring in yogurt, spread a mat of paper out on the floor and let your toddler paint (I’d recommend doing it naked).

There you have it! 6 awesome, Pinterest-worthy toddler taste-safe Valentine’s Day sensory activities. You can easily fill up the weeks leading up toward the holiday with all of this fun!

Taste Safe Rainbow Finger Paints

I finally found an amazing “recipe” for taste safe fingerprints. Sofie still points everything in her mouth, as I’m sure many one year olds do. So it’s no surprise that I’m constantly on the lookout for taste safe activities that can keep this busy toddler occupied for more than five minutes. She loves sensory activities so even though I knew this one would be messy, I figured I’d give it a go!

• Yogurt

• Food coloring

This one is so simple to make because all you need is a big tub of yogurt and some food coloring and voila you have a fun little activity! I will say I was skeptical about how yogurt would really paint on but her paper. And to be honest, I probably would have done it differently had I known.

Here’s the yogurt being colored! Super simple and just one drop of coloring really turned it bright pink!

I wanted Sofie to be able to paint a little rainbow so I made these edible paints in rainbow colors. I made each one in the same tub to avoid doing dishes and just washed it as I went. Then I poured them into these plastic jars that I got at Michael’s for under a dollar!

It was so much fun to make these rainbow colored paints that I almost didn’t want to let Sofie make a mess of them. But I went ahead and put some butcher paper down on the kitchen floor and taped it down with painters tape. In hindsight, I wish I had done it two layers thick because the yogurt was quite liquidy and it did deep through the paper. It was still pretty easy to clean up though.

I put the paints up on her high chair for safe keeping while I got everything ready. But that didn’t last long — she was reaching for them as soon as she saw them. I stripped her down to her diaper so as not to get her clothes messy. Then I opened up one jar at a time and let her have at! Here’s the result:

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Looking for more great activities for learning colors?

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Taste Safe Play Dough

I’ve been dying to let Sofie play with play dough but she just puts everything in her mouth! So finally I found a recipe for some taste safe play dough to try.

• 3 Jumbo Marshmallows (or 6 large ones)

• 1/4 of corn starch

• 1 tsp coconut oil

Mix marshmallows corn starch and oil in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir in with food coloring and kneed!