Grocery Store Play

This school year has just begun and every year it takes a few days or weeks to learn the dynamic of the new class. Who will be the leader, who will be my helper, how will the different personalities mesh together, what activities will work the best?

I already know this is going to be a fantastic year. One child approached me during free play a few days ago and asked if we could “make a grocery store.” As a firm believer in play being the best way for children to learn, I didn’t hesitate. I began by asking open-ended questions. What do we need for a grocery store? Where should we set up the food? Who could be the cashier? What other jobs are there in a grocery store?

We came up with a section of the block area as the best location for our store and we began to set it up. The cashier position was the most desired because the toy cash register is loads of fun. We needed a plan to take turns. The children came up with someone being the customer and someone else being the shelf-stocker while they waited for their opportunity at the cash register.

The best part of play-based learning is the decision making we all do together to make things work. Once we figured out how to set everything up, this dramatic play of grocery store play lasted almost an hour. And in the days following this experiment, the grocery store play became a favorite activity during our free play.

So what did they learn during this process?

They learned how to cooperate together in the different roles and take turns with the higher desired objects.

They learned new vocabulary such as: cashier, customer, produce, and “your total is.”

They counted out money and products exploring the math concept of one-to-one correspondence.

They learned about the importance of cleaning up the area to allow for continued play.

They learned about sorting by putting the vegetables and fruits together, the cans together, and the meats together.

While we do have play food, they used blocks as grocery items so they used imagination.

After bagging up the groceries one child said to his peer, “have a great day!” And I absolutely love the play imitating real life.

I look forward to many more days of grocery store play this year and seeing where this leads.

Keep playing and keep learning.

#playbasedlearning #earlychildhooded #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhood #prek

#preschoolteacher #prekteacher #playistheworkofachild #preschoolactivities