Make a cardboard box play stove for your dramatic play area in preschool or kindergarten. This is an easy DIY project that can be made in a couple hours – or less!
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Provide hours of playtime with this easy cardboard box project. Kids will love this addition to their play kitchen in the dramatic play corner in their preschool.
Pretend play props help jumpstart imaginations and build language skills. Kids can role play the conversations and events they experience in their environments with puppet shows, tea parties, and dressup.
Related: Cardboard Box Kid-Size Props
Invite preschoolers to interact with a play oven and cooktop with this fun carboard box kitchen range.
Pretend play DIY stove
The amount of time it takes to complete this DIY will depend on your available materials and your choice of finishes, but an hour or two should be all it takes.
The project will be simpler if you are starting with a plain brown box. I used a box which was covered with images of the item inside, so I wrapped brown paper around the box. Naturally this took more time and effort.
I glued a piece of cardboard to the top of the box to reinforce the stovetop. See how we finished the stovetop in Step 3 below.
1. Make the oven.
Outline the shape of the door with a pencil. Cut out the sides and top of the door so it remains hinged at the bottom.
Tape around the door and the opening with duct tape.
- Place a box inside the oven to reach the same level as the bottom of the door.
- Cut a piece of corrugated cardboard (or other sturdy paper) to fit inside the oven.
- View of the completed oven interior.
Make two narrow openings in the oven door. Wrap a small rectangular piece of cardboard with the silver duct tape.
Insert each end of the cardboard through an opening, then tape the ends together on the inside of the oven door.
2. Make the backsplash.
The backsplash can be as large or small as design and materials allow.
3. Make the stovetop.
Glue two craft foam circles to the stovetop.
Glue smaller glitter foam circles on top of the craft foam circles.
Make a hole in the center of a bottle top, and in the stovetop, with an awl. Insert a screw nail through the bottle top and the stovetop. Add a nut on the underside to secure the nail, while allowing it to turn easily.
Add self-adhesive hooks to the backsplash for displaying utensils.
Your oven is ready for pretend play! Look for a set of plastic play kitchen dishes, OR wooden kitchen play dishes, and pretend play food online or at your local dollar store.
