A Trip to the Grocery Store

Everyday activities can easily be learning experiences for preschoolers! 

There are many valuable lessons to be learned from the common task of grocery shopping but today I want to take the opportunity to focus on just math and literacy skills. Let me just say as a mom myself I took three children under the age of five with me to go grocery shopping and was able to accomplish lessons on most trips. It does take a few minutes longer and it does take intention but I promise the extra effort will be worth it when your  child starts to pick up on these skills! Below you'll find ways to enhance the experience, examples on how to do it and precisely what skills will be learned.

MATH SKILLS

• Count items before adding them to the cart

• How many bananas are in the bundle? How many grocery bags did we fill?

This focuses on object counting skills

• Weigh produce and compare heavier and lighter items

• Do the onions weigh more than the lettuce?

This teaches about measurements

• Identify the colors of produce or packaging

• What color is the box of Cheerios?

This teaches colors

• Point out numbers

• How much does the milk cost? (point out the dollars)

This teaches number recognition

• Compare item sizes

• Which box of crackers is taller? Which jar of salsa is wider?

This teaches math comparison terms

LITERACY SKILLS

• Make a list together

• Tell your child what you need to add to the list, write it and show them the words added

• Read the list items while shopping and point them out

This teaches that words are written and read

• Find a letter on signs and packages

• Look at the A in apples or the B on the Bounty paper towels.

This teaches letter recognition

• Emphasize the first sound of items as you add them to the cart

• Pretzels start with a 'pa' sound for the letter 'p'

This teaches phonological awareness (letter sounds)

• Read the signs

• Point to the big sign on the way into the store, those letters spell City Market

This teaches that letters make words