Supermarket and Kitchen Activities that Teach Kids Valuable Skills

The supermarket and kitchen may be routine drudgery for you, but to a preschooler it's an adventure. Here are a few ways to capitalize on excitement and teach some valuable skills through these skill-building activities:

In the supermarket:

1. Encourage your child to count potatoes, onions, oranges, tomatoes, pears, and other produce as he puts it in the plastic bag.

2. While in the produce section, talk about the different sizes, shapes, and colors of the same fruit (for example, all pears don't look alike) and the different weights and sizes of fruit. The large hanging scale gives you a chance to show a child the difference in weight between ten grapes and ten grapefruits.

3. While still in the produce section, talk about what goes into making your selections - for example, why you're choosing the firmer apple over the softer one.

4. Give your child a dollar to buy a nutritious snack. Be sure to talk about what nutritious means beforehand. Let him pay for the snack himself, get a receipt, hold the purchase in his own paper bag, and keep the few coins in change from the transaction.

In the kitchen:

1. Let your child put away clean flatware in the drawer. Children love matching things and enjoy sorting the large and small spoons and forks and placing them correctly in the dividers. However, do not give him the knives. Even bread knives can hurt children.

2. Let older preschoolers help you count how many people will be eating and how many plates and glasses will be needed to set the table.

3. Talk about pouring a fourth of the milk in the quart container into a glass, about cutting an apple into thirds, or about sharing your sandwich by dividing it in half. You are talking fractions and doing it in a literal way children can understand.

4. Cook or bake with your children. Think of what goes into the simple act of making brownies. First, you have to decide which size bowl will be big enough to hold the batter. Then, you have to measure the ingredients and follow instructions as to what goes in first, second, and so on. Then you have to decide which size pan you will need for baking the brownies. Then you have to set the timer and not forget to take the brownies out of the oven. All of this develops a foundation for sequencing and measuring, among other skills.