Taking a trip to the grocery store? Try these easy activities to convert your trip to the store from a chore to a fun and enriching outing for you and your child!

1. Alphabet Grocery List: While not the most efficient way to plan your visit, sorting your list alphabetically is a great way to work on early literacy skills and make hunting for items a fun game!
2. Scale Showdown: Weighing your fruits and veggies is a great way to work on early math skills. Make it a game by taking turns weighing items and guessing whose item will weigh more!
3. Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Get a little gross motor practice in as you move around the grocery store. Select different animals to imitate and stomp, slither, and hop down the aisles.
4. Play: Where does it come from?: By the time food reaches your child it is often very far removed from its original source. Have your child guess where the item came from. For example, milk comes from cows, blueberries grow on bushes, etc.
5. Warm, Warmer, Warmest: Hunting for items will keep your child engaged in the shopping process and may keep them from breaking down before you reach the end of your list. Pre-spot the item and have your child hunt for them based on saying warm, warmer, warmest.
6. Plan a Recipe Together: Picky eater? Having your child be a part of the process from the very beginning will give them a larger investment in the final product. Who knows, it might even get them to try something new!
7. Texture Talk: There are lots of great textures at the grocery store. Ask your child to help find items based on their texture. 
8. Shape Hunt: Just like texture, there are a number of great shapes at the grocery store. Ask your child to find items based on their shape.
9. Start a Grocery Cart Band: While being conscious of other shoppers, pick a few items from your cart for your child to use as instruments. Items such as coffee cans, boxes, of cereal, and spices make excellent shakers!
10. Pay: Create a smaller group of items that your child is in charge of checking out with (this works especially well at the self-checkout). Allow them to help pay and bag the items. Children love taking on adult tasks and it will give them a sense of responsibility and ownership over those items.

Have other fun grocery store games? Please share! We would to love to hear them.