A1Children and parents5 min read

Run a pretend fruit stall in English

At a stall made of paper fruit, a child asks, hands over and says thank you in English. Materials, a sample exchange, one and many, swapping roles, a fruit that isn't on the stall, and three ideas to grow the game.

By Aslıgül Aşkın, 26 October 2026

Guide: English with children. Main post: How to teach your child English at home: a parent's guide by age

A fruit stall set up at home teaches a child to ask for something, hand it over and say thank you in English, all inside a game. One of you is the stall keeper and the other is the customer; the customer asks for a fruit, the stall keeper hands it over, and the customer checks it. You don't need real money or a real shop. Three fruits are enough for the first game: apple, banana and orange.

This post explains how to set up the stall, how one exchange works from start to finish, how to use one and many naturally, and how to grow the game over a few weeks.

Set up the stall

Draw and colour two of each fruit on six pieces of paper; if your child helps with the colouring, the fruit names start coming up before the game even begins. A tray becomes the stall and a cloth bag becomes the customer's shopping bag. If you like, make a small sign: “Fruit”. Real fruit works too, but paper fruit doesn't bruise when it's dropped and can be used again every day. Leave money out; this game is about asking and answering, and counting money is a different game.

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One exchange from start to finish

In the first round, play both roles yourself while your child watches. Stall keeper: “Hi! What would you like?” Customer: “Can I have an apple, please?” Stall keeper: “Here you are.” Customer: “Thanks!” Stall keeper: “You're welcome. Bye!” In the second round, your child is the customer. In the first tries it's enough for them to point at the fruit or say “Apple!”; you complete the sentence: “An apple? Here you are.”

One apple, two bananas

The stall is a good place to show one and many without any explanation. For one fruit you say an apple, an orange, a banana; for more than one, two apples, three bananas. Apple and orange start with a vowel sound, so they take an. You don't need to teach this as a rule; as you keep saying the right form, your child's ear gets used to it. If your child says “two apple”, don't correct them; just use the right form in your answer: “Two apples? Here you are. One, two!” Counting makes the plural easier to notice.

Swap roles

After two exchanges, your child becomes the stall keeper and you're the customer. Running the stall gives your child the chance to ask “What would you like?” and to say “Here you are.” Vary your own requests: once politely, “Can I have a banana, please?”, and once more briefly, “Two oranges, please.” That way your child hears different forms of the same request. As stall keeper your child is in charge; if they don't want to hand over a fruit, let them say “Sorry!” The fun of the game comes from the conversation flowing like a real one.

A fruit that isn't on the stall

One day, ask for a fruit that isn't on the stall: “Can I have a pear, please?” If your child looks puzzled, model the answer: “Sorry, we haven't got any pears. Would you like an apple?” This small surprise adds a new pattern to the game and gives your child a real choice. A more experienced child can ask when they're the customer: “Have you got any grapes?” Keep your answer short: “Yes, here you are” or “No, sorry.” The next day you can draw that fruit and add it to the stall; your child will have asked for the new word themselves.

Three ideas to grow the game

The first idea is adding colours: the stall keeper asks, “Would you like a red apple or a green apple?” Drawing apples in two colours brings colour words together with fruit. The second is big and small: “A big banana, please.” Draw two sizes of the same fruit. The third is turning the stall into a greengrocer's: add carrots, potatoes and onions, and put fruit and vegetables in separate baskets. You can do that sorting after the game in the activity at the end of this post too, placing apples, bananas and carrots into a “Fruit” or “Vegetable” group together.

Close the stall together

The end of the game is a chance for English too. The stall keeper turns the sign over and says “The shop is closed!” Then you count the fruit back into the basket together: “One apple, two apples, three apples.” The customer hands back what's left in the bag: “Here you are. Two bananas.” Ending every game with the same short routine gives a child the comfort of knowing what comes next; after a few days your child may start saying the closing lines before you do. Saying “The shop is open!” when you set the stall up again the next day is enough to bring the game back.

Frequently asked questions

Does my child need to know the word fruit first?

No. The pictures already show the context, and individual fruit names are enough to start. Your child will hear the word fruit over time, on the sign and in the question “Fruit or vegetable?”

Should I correct every mistake?

No. If the meaning is clear, respond to the request and use the right form in your own sentence. Stopping the game to explain a rule can make a child less willing to speak. For more home games suited to your child's age, see English games for children by age, and for the overall plan of English at home, the parents' guide.