Tiny Town Café is a new role-play village in Newbury town centre. There is nothing else like this in the centre of Newbury, for such a reasonable price too!
Tiny Town Café gives children the opportunity to explore different occupations and practice real life activities, made accessible to them via Montessori style toys.
There are lots of different stations around the room. George started in the mechanics garage area, where he gathered together different ride on toys and ‘fixed’ them using a toy tool kit. There was even a ramp to drive the ride-on up while he worked on it. He changed the tyres, washed the cars, and tightened any lose parts.
Next he went to the grocery shop area. This was really cute, with little shopping carts and a huge array of different food goods to ‘buy’. The packaging was real-life food packaging so George recognised some of his favourites to put in his trolley. Then he pushed it to the till and I played shopkeeper.
Then, he checked out the construction area. This area had soft building bricks and a woodworking bench. There were different wooden tools for them to use and a construction worker hi-vis jacket and hat.
George really enjoyed the café area. There was a big play kitchen with real life features and a washing machine. George loved wearing the chefs hat and making me a cake.
Role-play and pretend play is a key milestone in a child’s development. This role-play allows children to build relationships, practicing language with peers, expand their vocabulary, connect language to ideas and actions, and develop confidence in expressing themselves.
There was also a post-office area with real parcels to post, a doctor’s area with a medical kit, a beauty salon area, and a prison space. George enjoyed pretending I was a criminal and chased me until he put wooden handcuffs on me and tied me up in the ‘prison’.
There is a lovely café area serving hot and cold drinks and snacks. There is also a special area for non-walkers with extra soft flooring and baby sensory toys.
The whole area is very clean and bright, really well looked after and the staff are so friendly and helpful. Its £5.50 for a child, £3 for an adult, £3 for a non-walker, and baby’s (0-6 months) are free. (October 2023)
If you’re a local mum with littles ones, find all the baby and toddler groups in Newbury.
