AN OUTDOOR COFFEE SHOP - ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

While we're heading out in to the garden for today's coffee shop post, don't forget to check out our Home Learning Resources. We're adding to them all the time. Dino fans will love these fact finding puzzles, and for any bookworms there's a brilliant review sheet to practice writing and reporting skills. They're all perfectly formatted for you to print off and use.

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS IN THE GARDEN

With the lovely weather that we're experiencing, if you're fortunate to have an outdoor space, yard or garden, we're sure that both you and your children are trying to spend as much time in the fresh air as possible in order to break up the day. 

GLTC's toys are sturdy enough to be used in the garden so if you have one of our wooden shops, why not take it outside with you? The Devon Market Stall can be transformed in to whatever shop captures your child's imagination - fruit, flowers, homemade lemonade, books, toys - but today we've teamed it up with our Star Beans Coffee Shop because we know many parents are missing their coffee shop visits. We find that imaginative play is a really good way to distract your child (and yourself) from any worries they may have regarding the current situation. It's a fun distraction to play shop for a while.

SET UP YOUR MARKET STALL AND DISPLAY YOUR SWEET TREATS

The coffee shop sits neatly atop the market stall leaving the shelves free for additional cups, plates and treats - both the wooden and the edible sort. Pop a picnic blanket nearby for customers to sit on and don't forget a food and drinks menu to pass around. Have your little barista write down the individual orders and check whether they're 'to go' or not. 

EASY CHOCOLATE BARK RECIPE

As flour is quite difficult to come by, stocking your coffee shop with edible cakes or muffins can be quite tricky. From what we've seen chocolate doesn't seem to be in too short supply so how about an easy chocolate bark recipe? It's suitably sweet and can be snapped in to smaller pieces for little ones and perhaps slightly larger chunks for any grown ups passing by to pick up their coffee.

If you're not familiar with chocolate bark, it's incredibly easy to make and you can adapt the steps to whatever you have at home or can pick up at the supermarket.

Simply melt 400 grams of your favourite chocolate in a microwave in short blasts of 20 seconds, mixing after every one. In this example, we melted 300 grams of white chocolate and then swirled in 100 grams of melted milk chocolate.

While warm, spread the chocolate out on to a baking paper covered tray and sprinkle on your toppings. Smarties are always a winner with young children because they're so beautifully colourful. Then, pop the bark in to the fridge to set for an hour before breaking it up in to pieces.

DON'T FORGET YOUR LOYALTY CARD

If you're feeling creative, head to Canva to make your very own loyalty cards. Type in 'loyalty card' and within seconds, you'll have a plethora of templates to choose from and customise with your child's input. Print them off and cut them to size ready for an authentic coffee shop experience. Don't forget your KeepCup!