10 fun activites for kids in the grocery store

Going to the grocery store with pre-schoolers, yes, this may be a nightmare for some parents, but here are some techniques that can make it a lot more fun. Get rid of the "gimmes," temper tantrums and whining that plagues the kids in the grocery store.

1. Take photos of items you need from a magazine or a camera and make it a treasure hunt. Sometimes it helps to limit the pictures to the aisle you are shopping in. The child could also select items from several cards as their own photo shopping list.

2. With beginning readers use a very simple list or have them write easy word items on a list and check off the items when they are located. This can make the young shopper feel very involved and encourage their cooperation as well as helping them write and read for a genuine purpose!

3. Play color find as you drive down the aisles. One of you picks a color and you look for all of the items that have that color. Our pre-schooler loved this one the most!

4. For older kids you can also pick a letter or a number to look for in each aisle.
You would be surprised at the variety of letters and numbers in grocery aisles.

5. Shapes are little more limited in the grocery store; but you will find squares, circles, rectangles and some triangles. You can name the shape or use shape cards for a treasure hunt style activity.

6. Pass safe items to the child to place in the cart. This is a personal favorite of our toddler!

7. Pick a point in the store that comes right before or after the most challenging aisle and sing a song with your child, my thirteen year old used to sing a favorite song from a movie. We still remember this fondly!

8. Play a naming game as you walk through each aisle of the story. The boxes, bags and cans will often have pictures of animals,people and things that your child can learn about.

9. Practice making choices. Ask your child to select between two acceptable options.

10. Make up a store story, as you walk along in the grocery store make a story with your preschooler inspired by the items you see. The stories can be serious or very silly and may turn in to songs.

11. Just have a conversation with your kid. Low tech, small effort, but probably my favorite. I have learned about the best rock, the coolest worm and to this day learn about the new girls, video games and other things on their minds.