In Appleton Community 4K classrooms, learning looks like a bakery bustling with young chefs, a campsite glowing with a carefully built campfire, and a doctor’s office filled with compassionate caregivers.
While the students are busy playing, their teachers are observing, asking thoughtful questions, and helping to reinforce important learning targets.
The experiences are made more fun and engaging thanks to themed dramatic play boxes provided by an Appleton Education Foundation grant.
The idea came from Kathy Jo Uslabar, a program support teacher for Appleton Community 4K. She noticed a gap in resources among classrooms and wanted to bring equity to students’ access to high-quality play items. AEF helped turn Uslabar’s idea into reality.
She used funding to create themed dramatic play boxes that now rotate among 4K classrooms and reach nearly 700 students annually. Each themed box—birthday celebrations, bakery/café, doctor’s office, camping, and travel—includes realistic, high-quality materials that engage learners of all abilities and backgrounds. In the bakery box, children get cooking with real mixing bowls, spoons, and cookie trays. In the camping set, they rest in a tent, cast a fishing pole, scan the horizon with binoculars, and roast marshmallows over a carefully constructed campfire.
“Through play, students naturally practice language, math, problem-solving, and social skills,” Uslabar said. “The prop boxes give children joyful, hands-on experiences so they can access concepts more easily.”
Each box also includes tips and prompts for teachers to reinforce student learning, and guidance for documenting curriculum goals, making AEF’s investment both powerful and purposeful.
This story first appeared in AEF’s 2025 Report to the Community in March 2026. Review the complete 2025 Report to the Community.
