Simple Way to Keep Kids Entertained and Learning at the Grocery Store

“I didn’t know grocery shopping could be so much fun!”  My son was standing in the produce department with the biggest smile on his face.  It had happened completely by accident.  I had originally brought the mini notebooks and pens, thinking the kids could use them to add up prices and work on real-life math while we were shopping.  But, when we entered the store I handed them the notebooks and gave them this simple activity that kept them smiling and having fun the entire grocery store trip.

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I never expected this activity to get them so excited.  What surprised me even more was that not only was my son having fun,  but he was having fun writing.  My son, who struggles with writing, who acts as if it is torture when he has to write his spelling words, was carefully writing in his notebook and smiling.

When we had entered the store I had sent them on a simple scavenger hunt.  I challenged them to find a fruit or vegetable they had never seen before, and they were having a blast, walking through the produce department and carefully copying down the names of each new item.

I thought they’d each write one or two items down while I picked up what we needed, and then they’d be ready to continue shopping.  Boy, was I wrong!  They continued to scan the produce department, finding new items, and excitedly sharing them with me.   In fact, my daughter couldn’t wait to share her list with Daddy when he came home that night.

Like I mentioned earlier, I originally thought we’d use the notebooks to do some math work, but they were having so much fun on their impromptu scavenger hunt that I let them continue.  Their eyes carefully scanned each aisle we went down.  Not only that, but they continued to write down new items they found the entire trip.

Want to take this a step further?  Let your kids pick one new item from their list to take home and try.  What a great way to get them excited about trying new fruits and vegetables!

“Mommy, can we do this again?”  My son was clutching his precious notebook as I pushed the cart to the car.  I couldn’t help but smile as I looked down to see his face.  I never thought such a simple, no-prep activity would get them so excited about grocery shopping.  And, yes, we will be doing it again.

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