Little Town

Little Town

With a Vet Office, a Whataburger Truck, and even an H-E-B, Little Town is a child-sized utopia for toddlers to explore and play. Little Town is filled with the familiar elements of city life; buildings, roads, street furniture, stop signs—even miniature birds and squirrels in dioramas. Organized by a mix of businesses along a wide, encircling boulevard, Little Town includes child-scaled immersive environments—each a familiar, themed space where kids learn by role-playing the adults in their lives.

Learning Objectives

  • Promotes exploration, open-ended discovery and role-play

  • Builds early numeracy and literacy

  • Generates real world connections 

  • Build children’s self-confidence as they learn to work through challenges

  • Allows for parent-child interaction

Activities by Recommended Age

  • Under 1 year: Little Crawler Park -- In the center of Little Town sits a park dedicated to crawlers and their caregivers. The space is also home to Little Town’s birds, butterflies and squirrels. The gated park has soft sculpture furnishings; flower pull-me-ups (to encourage standing); animal dioramas, whirligigs, wind blowers, balls, and peek-a-boo mirrors; padded flooring to cushion a fall; surprising cause and effect activities; and comfortable seating for parents, grandparents and caregivers.

  • 1 to 3 years-old: Food Truck-- Little Town needs to eat and the food truck is there to provide. Kids can role-play as servers, cooks or customers. Everything a little chef could want is inside the truck: a grill, deep fryer, refrigerator, open shelves, food prep counter, sink (non-working), drink dispenser (with sound effects), pots, pans and clips for orders. Outside customers can sit on stools or parents can sit on “sidewalk” tables. Servers can use placemats, dishes and dish tubs.

  • 3 to 5 years-old: H-E-B Market-- Kids work and play in a mock super market, updated to reflect a brand new H-E-B. Children work or shop for their favorites at the bakery, produce section, dairy case, international shelves, and canned and packaged food shelves. Shoppers roam the aisles and counters and fill their carts with groceries. As market staff, they bake and decorate cakes, work at the deli counter and “weigh” and package meats, or work on the floor arranging fruits and vegetables, and restocking the shelves. They also work the registers, scanning and bagging groceries. 

Tips

  • When the weather is nice, visit the Early Learner Yard behind Little Town to climb and explore in a safe, controlled environment.

  • Don’t forget to take some pictures of your Doer dressed as a Little Vet Pilot, or Construction Worker!