Restaurant @ Home
The middle class home has a lot of electronics, for him and her and separate ones for the kids, but kids love playing with their parents and it’s still the best teacher.
Try playing restaurant at home, since you can’t dine out. Most restaurants are on lockdown by government decree. Where do you start? Determine how much they know.
Some kids are used to restaurants. They went there as toddlers. Reluctant or eager serving staff perched them on high chairs. Other kids are used to sitting in the car while parents lean out of the window and place orders through a speaker phone.
Doctors and dentists have their own protocol, so do restaurants. This is what you can recreate during the make believe. One thing you don’t have to worry about is the kitchen. It’s right there. Question for the kids, what do we need? The answers will surprise you.
1. The menu.
2. Designing the menu. Give them printer paper.
3. Allocation of roles. Who will greet guests and hang their coats?
4. Who are the guests?
5. Who is the chef?
6. Who is the server (waiter or waitress)?
7. The server will also set the table.
8. Costumes. It will be fun making a chef’s hat from printer paper.
This play is not all about play. There will be protocol like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, important words needed for the workplace and life outside home.
This is another ‘written podcast’ by Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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