The Supermarket as the Classroom

There are many methods of teaching children today. There are lectures, lectures with discussion, videos, case studies, role playing, field trips and many other ways to teach.

One of the best ways for parents, grandparents or any adult to teach is to teach while doing everyday household chores-take them to the supermarket. This will teach them math, budgeting, reading, agriculture, science and even nutrition; a full six classes in about an hour and a half.

Their math skills will be sharpened without them even knowing it. They can learn how much food cost. There is no need to bring along a calculator, or even a cell phone. Let them use their human calculator.

Start the students at the deli, show them how much per pound the items they love cost. Most children will not be impressed because they feel their parents have unlimited money. Next take them on to the fruits and vegetables. Remind them they ate a pound and half of grapes at one sitting. Allow them to weigh the grapes and calculate the cost, they will soon find out their eyes are a lot bigger than their pockets. They may want apples and the good oranges, you know the ones without the seeds--they cannot be inconvenienced by having to fight off seeds. Let them read the descriptions to the many varieties of apples there are, then let them get the ones they think they want. If they are on a diet and have decided they must eat healthy then they must have lettuce because healthy to them means salad. This is a good time for that nutrition lesson. You can really throw a zinger into the mix, if you insist they get something other than the iceberg lettuce. Have them read the descriptions of the different types of lettuce. You can then explain to them which one will last the longest in the refrigerator. Move on to the tomatoes; ask them to select a couple. Then ask how they know what they will taste like. Have them feel and smell them and then select again, more than likely they will not choose the ones they first selected (they have had their first agriculture lesson). You now have lettuce and tomatoes and are on the lookout for other goodies for the healthy salad. Find the dressing for the salad-can they read the ingredients, can you?

After they have gathered and weighted everything, let them add it to the items from the deli. Watch as their eyes get bigger as they finally comprehend with their new found mathematical skills the art of budgeting.

As they continue on through the grocery store go to the frozen and prepackaged goods section. Have them read the ingredients, then maybe they can explain what the ingredients are since you can't (science lesson plus phonics). In this section, let them see how many servings are in a package and how many calories there are per serving. Remind them they ate the entire package yesterday. After you leave that section of the store, take them to the meat counter and explain to them the different grades of ground beef, this will help to explain why the fast food places can't be selling 100% ground beef hamburgers for $1. You may at this time start a brief lesson on the health topic: "You Are What You Eat".

You are now about half way through the supermarket, and they are probably getting a little tired. Don't worry about continuing this week's lesson with the way they eat, there's always next week.