How to Make a Grocery Shopping List with Your Kids

Children can learn how to save money and how to make healthy food choices when you include them in making a grocery shopping list. Even the young preschooler can participate in this project.

Preparation for Making a Grocery Shopping List

Look through cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer, to give yourselves an idea of what foods and staples need to be purchased. Talk about commonly used items. Point out those items that are running low. Ask your child to estimate how much needs to be purchased. For example, ask him to guess how many gallons of milk or loaves of bread you will need.

Pour over some favorite cookbooks or recipes together. Plan a menu for the week, and discuss the items you will require. Let children give their input, but prepare to negotiate. This is a great time to discuss healthy food choices.

Making a Grocery Shopping List with Pictures

Young children who are not yet writing can make their grocery shopping list out of pictures. Some budding artists may decide to draw their own pictures. Otherwise, you can finally recycle all of those weekly ads that come in the mail or newspaper. Children can practice their cutting skills as they choose their favorite foods to glue on their list.

Take this idea a step further, and have them glue the pictures by category. Keep all fruits in one section, all vegetables in another, and so on.

Reuse the pictures by gluing them on index cards. Laminate them for longer use. Punch a hole in the corner of each one and have children make a booklet of items as their grocery shopping list. Some older children can even try to sequence the cards according to the layout of the store.

Making a Grocery Shopping List of Words

Children who are ready to write can easily write out a grocery shopping list. They can practice phonetic spelling by sounding out the words they wish to write. Have them copy the names of favorite products directly from containers in the home, or from ads in the newspapers and mail.

Get out the word books and picture dictionaries. Children can go through the books and write down their desired food choices.

Using the Grocery Shopping List at the Store

Children can be in charge of crossing off items as they are placed in the cart. Some children may even be able to take cards with pictures of food out of one envelope and place them into a second one. Or, move cards from one side of a folder to the other.

Whichever method you choose, keep in mind that it will take a little bit longer to go through the store. Remember to keep the side and follow general rules of grocery store etiquette, to not bother other shoppers. Realize the important lessons you can teach your children as they help to make your grocery shopping list.