All the DAZE Productions: Prop Boxes - Themes that begin with "B"

Include the following collections of objects and materials for children to create, discover, and use for
imaginary play. Store collections in boxes or baskets to be accessible at any time (indoors or outdoors)
for children to enhance their dramatic play.

Click Here for Alphabetical Prop Box Directory

B
Bank
play money, deposit slips/checks, bankbooks , adding machine/calculator, teller window, cash box ,
rubber stamps/inkpads, paper/pens, coin rolls

Breakfast/ Morning
Empty breakfast containers, cooking and eating utensil, shower nozzle cot, slippers pajamas, robes,
washcloths, towels combs, brushes

Bakery
activity guide, fresh play dough, rolling pins , aprons, oven mitts, cookie sheets , chef's hat, muffin tins ,
spoons , cake decorators, order pads, "recipes" , cookie cutters, flour shaker, cupcake papers,
cookbooks with photos, rolling pins, plastic cookie cutters, hot pad, measuring and mixing bowls and
cups, bread pans, wooden spoons, empty spice cont., empty cake mix boxes,cake/pie pans, boxes for
ovens, plastic bowls, small bakery bags, posters/pictures of bakery foods to display on the walls, cookie
sheets, bread tins, pancake turner, oven timer, snack pies, clear plastic bowls, cake mixes/ingredients,
cake decorations (buttons, ribbon, lace, yarn, and so on),assorted fake food, empty ingredient
containers, cupcake papers, cupcake pan, sprinkles, wooden spoons, spatula, sponges, garlic press (to
use with play dough), egg beater, scale, pot holders/hot pads/mitts, hand towel, mixing bowls/spoons,
old mixer with cord cut off, icing tubes, aprons, chef's hat, wooden spoons, Easy Bake Oven, various
cooking utensils and dishes, cash register or money box, play money, price list (dry-erase board and
pen), receipt book, bags, pastry bags, baker's hats

Baker's Hats
Cut an 8” x 22” rectangle out of white poster board. Wrap the long side of this rectangle around a child’
s head to form a cylinder. Tape or staple it to
fit. (If you use staples, staple from the inside out to prevent children’s hair from catching in the ends of
the staples.) Tape or staple white tissue paper or sheeting fabric to the top to simulate a chef’s hat.

Extended Activities
Substitute pre-made bread dough and flour for play dough.

Visit a bakery. Point out baked goods, displays, workers’ jobs,and price list.

Help the children follow a recipe to make bread, pretzels, or muffins.

Help the children bake bread with and without yeast and compare the results.

Share favorite types of bread with family members. Taste and compare different kinds of bread
products.

Stir one package of dry yeast into a cup of warm water. Encourage the children to talk about what they
have observed while baking their bread and/or muffins and on their trip to the bakery.

Add measuring spoons and cups to a sensory table filled with flour or play dough. Record
equivalencies by drawing or writing.

Decorate small cupcakes or muffins with frosting or cream cheese to which food coloring has been
added. Let the children “sell” these in the bakery before snack time.

Baby Nursery
(store items in a baby bath tub) dolls, wash cloth, diapers, empty shampoo bottle, rubber duck, infant
towel, empty baby powder bottle, receiving blanket, clothing, shoe boxes with bedding, pacifier, bottles,
soothers, rattles, bib,

Baseball
hats, plastic bat, softball/baseball, team logos/patches, team rosters, t-shirts, baseball cards, posters of
players, pennants

Bear Hospital
old sheeting, masking tape, band-aids, scissors. Tear narrow strips of old sheeting to make bandages.
Cut out triangular shapes too. Show child has to make an arm sling and how to tape down bandages.
Using bears, dolls, and stuffed toys as patients, have child pretend to be a doctor.

Beauty/ Barber Shop
combs, towel, hair clips, fake scissors (plastic play dough ones), wigs or hair pieces (to prevent spread
of head lice, these must be frozen or cleaned) brushes, rollers (magnetic or sponge) and pins, hairnets
clippers, plastic apron, bobby pins, plastic basin, magazines for waiting room, pretend nail polish,
emery board, shaving mug, pretend makeup and shavers, smocks, makeup brushes, hair accessories
(ribbons, bow barrettes, hair clips), towels, Plastic toy beauty shop items (curlers, nail dryer, nail polish
bottles, combs, scissors, etc.), Small cape(to drape on shoulders) donated from beauty shop (or small
blanket or towel with a clothes pin can be substituted.) an old lampshade can be converted into a dryer,
Hair Dryers or Curling Irons with the cords cut off (watch out for the curling irons with the bristles - they
can really tangle hair) Clean empty shampoo/conditoner and hairspray bottles (hot glue caps on if
necessary), cash register and play money/credit cards, make scissors out of heavy cardboard and
attach two pieces with a fastener, a mirror, dolls with hair, broom & dustpan, plastic tub for washing hair,
telephone, appointment book, paper, pencils, old hairstyle books or pictures from magazines pasted
into book, booklet (blank: for children to draw or write about experiences in centre)

Beyond the Box: dressing table, display table, chairs

Beach
activity guide, puzzles, board games, magnifying glasses, sponge, shells, shovel and sieve, sink and
float objects calendar, seashell counters, sailboats, puppets, blankets, sunglasses, beach ball, beach
towel, buckets, pails and shovels, play picnic foods ,swimming caps, surfboard, flip flops, radio, swim
suits, small cooler, empty sunscreen bottles, snorkel and mask and flippers, straw hats, beach hats and
visors, sea shells, inflatable pool, plastic fish, ice chest, pictures of the beach, sand tools/scoops, sand
moulds, books about the beach, coloured sand for sand art, pictures of people at the beach, tapes with
ocean sounds, sarongs/cover-ups for bathing suits, beach bags, swim fins, face mask, snorkel tubes,
beach hats and sun visors, store in wading pool, juice cans, cassette tapes of beach songs (like the
Beach Boys), cooler, water wings, floater wings, frisbee, life preservers for swimming, picnic basket
with lunch in it, safety cones for high tide,

If you have a nice warm sunny day....do the real thing!

Extended Activities: Set up a Beach right in the playroom for the kids. Hang a huge Sun and some
clouds from the ceiling. You can make these from colored poster board. Have a large tub of water to
sail boats in (I used a Tupperware sweater container, because it is long, flat and clear). Mark off a
pretend swimming area with blue tape. You can sit in the "lifeguard chair" next to another sweater size
storage container filled with sand and play toys for the sand. Add lawn chairs and an umbrella

BIRTHDAY
Party Favors - hats, paper goodie bags, party toys, Birthday Tablecloth & napkins, Candles, Wrapping
Paper & Boxes (& tape for wrapping), Old (or new) Birthday Cards Cake Pan, pitcher, silverware, Paper
plates & cups, Toy or real camera for taking pictures, make a cake from plaster of Paris (placing several
plastic birthday candles holders in the top before the plaster sets. Place the plaster cake in a box along
with birthday candles with the wicks cut off)

Extended Activities: Wrap some items in birthday paper and have the children guess what each one is.
Start out by wrapping items with very distinctive shapes, such as a globe, and then wrap other items that
may be more difficult to guess.

Have a wrapped item on a table with a sign that says, "Mystery Birthday Gift". Put a large sheet of paper
near the items so that the children can record their guesses.

Birthday Bag
Put several small objects into a paper bag. Include birthday items such as a birthday candle, a birthday
hat and a birthday napkin. Have the children sit in a circle with the birthday child sitting next to you. Let
the birthday child reach into the bag and take out an object. Use the object to begin telling a special
birthday story. Have the child continue taking one object at a time from the bag. As he or she does so
incorporate the objects into your story.

Birthday Chair
Purchase a sturdy wooden chair at a garage sale or a flea market. Clean up the chair, then paint it with
bright colours an add the words 'Happy Birthday'. Let the birthday child have the honor of sitting in the
birthday chair on his or her special day.

Birthday Throne
Make a fabric slipcover to turn an ordinary chair into a birthday throne. Place a large piece of paper on
the floor and lay the back of a straight-backed chair on it. Trace around the back of the chair, adding
two inches all the way around it. Then cut out the tracing to make a pattern. Place the pattern on a
piece of velour, velveteen or other royal looking fabric and cut out two pieces. With the right sides of the
fabric pieces together, sew around the sides and top, leaving the bottom open. Turn the cover right
side out and slip it over the back of the chair to make a birthday throne.

Bonkers for Balls
beach balls, soccer balls, bouncy balls, ping pong balls, tennis balls, foot balls, large balls, small balls,
soft balls, firm balls

Book Store
books made by children, other books, shelves, autograph signing

The Bug Collector Backpack
backpack, clear plastic bottle, pebbles, moss, cardboard box, baby food jars with lids, plastic tubing,
hammer and nail (to create air holes), books, magnified glass, gloves, bags, shovel, pencil & notebook
(to record findings), children's book, puzzle, bug catching tools/accessories)insect tray, belt, assorted
plastic bugs, floor puzzle, finger puppets, magnifying scope, catching container, children's books

Bubbles
add glitter to bubble solution, add bubbles to water table or bath, make a paper cup blower, make a
pipe cleaner blower, mix club soda in juice, dish soap, wire hangers made into bubble wands, plastic
fruit baskets for wands, commercial bubble wands