Ten Ways to Promote School Readiness While Shopping with Your Child at the Supermarket

Going to the Grocery Store

A routine trip to the grocery store can actually be an occasion to expose your child to many wonders of your community and world. Incorporating the five senses as well as educating your children on nutrition and finance turns a seemingly ordinary experience into a meaningful learning opportunity!

Here are some ways you can use this trip to bond with and inform your child on important lessons:

1. Teach your child how to read nutrition labels for specific allergies.

2. Have your child unpack the food at home, categorizing different types of food (such as fruits and vegetables).

3. Show your child how to solve the price of certain foods by weight.

4. Give your child a small sum of money to pick out one treat for themselves that they will purchase with the allotted amount.

5. Show your child coupons and have them search for the matching item.

6. Pay in cash and let your child count the change.

7. Discuss what makes certain foods healthy (i.e. vitamins, protein) and others unhealthy (i.e. sugars, unnatural ingredients).

8. Talk to your child about how certain vegetables grow in the ground.

9. Allow your child to taste multiple foods in the different food groups and pick what they would like for their meal.

10. At dinners, tell family members how your child helped to plan the meal, giving them a sense of self-worth in the family’s daily operations.