Language Adventures while Grocery Shopping!

By Elizabeth Peterson, Speech Language Pathologist

The grocery store is common ground for busy families.  Have you ever considered what a language rich environment the supermarket can be for you and your child to explore concepts together? Granted mothers with young children are busy people and the grocery store is the last place they want to be. However, consider allowing some additional time in your shopping budget.  You will look forward to taking your child grocery shopping to explore the many fun language and cognitive enhancing adventures available.

The Produce Section
There are learning opportunities available in any location. Turn the produce section into an exciting jungle while creating a game out of identifying concepts. After entering the produce section send your child on an adventure to seek out specific items presented in the form of a concept.  Listed below are examples.

This is a fun approach for exposing your child to concepts such as, small, big, round, thin, thick, colors and numbers!

Weigh It

Select a piece of fruit or a vegetable and have your child feel it to guess how much it will weigh.  Place it on the scale and compare.  Select 2 items and have your child examine them to determine which one will weigh more.  To incorporate number skills, together determine how much more the other one weighed.  Looks can be deceiving.  A child may guess that a basket of strawberries weighs more because there are many berries compared to a single apple.

Coupons

Have your child be a detective searching for clues while shopping. Select some coupons and have your child match the coupon to the item. Matching items will stimulate scanning, attention, letter recognition and emergent literacy skills to become great readers. This is an exciting method for exposing your child to print.  When you arrive to a specific isle present your child with a coupon and have them search out the item.

 Print Exposure

While cruising the isles in the store, read the posted price for learning numbers.  To simplify, ask your child to find an item where the price begins with the number 3.  To increase the level of challenge, have them find an item that has a specific price listed. 

 Search and Rescue Objects and Letters

Allow your child to find items on the grocery list for additional print exposure. Report to your child, “I need a can of peas”. “Can you find chocolate ice cream”? Once they have located the product ask them to share with you how they know they have the correct item. Your child will feel like an important helper while you are facilitating attention, scanning, object and print recognition skills.

Sound Recognition

During the journey of perusing the isles, make a game out of identifying items that begin with a specific sound.  Turn it into a fun game like “I Spy”.  For example, while in the cereal section say, “I spy a cereal that begins with the sound /ch/. Children love this. To increase the level of challenge, have your child find items with the final sound in the word.  For example, consider oatmeal and have your child find the cereal that has the ending sound /l/. Going to the store has never been so much fun for both of you.

Same or Different

Children recognize how things are alike before they recognize how things are different. Create a natural and interesting discussion on how items are the same and different.  Compare apples. They are alike in that they are both round, and grow on trees. They are different in that one is green while the other is yellow. One taste sweet while the other is sour. Bring both home to sample!  In another activity, compare two boxes of cornflakes.  They are both the same but one has a picture of a racecar while the other has a drawing of a chicken.  This is a nice approach for exposing your child to concepts in a relaxed atmosphere.

With a little practice it will become natural and fun to foster your child’s language skills during everyday tasks.  A grocery store outing can be a fun time for exposing your child to concepts that will foster language and reading development while preparing them for academic success!