I hate shopping by myself with the kids–I avoid it at all costs. The few times I have been forced to brave the isles of the grocery store alone have nearly always ended in catastrophe. The last time my 6 year old knocked over an entire tea display, my 2 and 3 year old nearly broke some specialty tourist trinkets and my kids were running up and down the isles like a herd of elephants. I was at my whits end! I pulled all the kids to a neglected corner of the store with my meal plan and grocery list (CLICK HERE to get yours!) clutched in my white-knuckled grip and took a few deep breaths. We were missing items, a LOT of items, I thought to myself as I scanned the plan. The thought of going back through the busy isles gave me an instant headache and I was tempted to make a run for it. Looking around me, desperately searching for a solution, I had an epiphany… and it was epic! Our grocery shopping trips have never been the same!
PIN ME!
How I changed this grocery shopping trip with kids.
So I am alone, sulking in a corner isle, my kids touching things they shouldn’t, a list only half checked off, two carts balancing a disturbing amount of food… now what? I live in a small town and our store is very small, so I sent my 7 and 8 year old on a scavenger hunt while I hunkered down, away from the angry glares and turned up noses of the other shoppers. I hid away in a corner, holding sticky little fingers away from breakable displays and glass jars while my little detectives went searching. It was going SO WELL that I started getting them to tell me the prices on them. This little game was insanely helpful to me, giving my kids some reading practise PLUS they were learning about economics, value of food, etc. Um, can anyone say homeschool WIN?!?!?!?! I sat there in awe, watching my cheerful little hunters and gatherers search the shelves while the rest of us stood safely on the sidelines and I thought to myself, “Why on EARTH haven’t I thought of this before?!?!?!?!”
It may not be original, but it was an original thought to me, and by far one of the most successful and simple ideas I’ve had this year! The kids thought it was the best thing ever, so I came home and made these bright little printables for them to take along the next time. I hate wasting printer ink, so I laminated them and the kids now sit at the table and help me plan our meals. They write down some of the grocery list on their “scavenger hunt” list (and BOOM, writing practise right there peeps!) are ready to go shopping with me the next week!
Get your FREE grocery shopping scavenger hunt printable!
This is designed to be printed on an 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper, one for each child. Write their name on the top and laminate it if you want to reuse it each week. You can either write a list for them or, better yet, get them to help you write their lists (great for copywork practise). You may need to tweak the image and scale it down a bit if your printer preview is cutting anything off, so make sure you check the preview (save ink, save sanity right?). Also, before you do anything else, add rebecca@rebeccaspoonerpgblog.com to your contact list so your freebie doesn’t go to junk! I would love to hear what you think in the comments below and please share this post with a friend who is low on milk but too overwhelmed to go shopping alone! YOU CAN DO IT!
Here’s a peek at my meal planning booklet, which is available for print on my Etsy shop HERE.
