Go Shopping Theme

Oh no summer is over and maybe things will slow down or get super busy with older siblings returning to school. In our house, my little guy will be starting "3 School" homeschooling. I have a new Facebook page "Learning Tree Homeschool" with those activities. The activities are geared more towards preschool now and will grow as my little guy grows. I will still work on themes and activities for the littles over here. I won't be doing Holidays though so it can be easier for someone to come in and do the activities for the themes not worrying about holiday stuff.

This month over here we have a Store theme. It works on naming foods, and taking turns, and could hopefully help if you have some trouble with your little one in the store. I have many families that say their child doesn't like to go shopping, they give them so much trouble, crying in the store, and don't want to go in the cart. I know my little one gives me issues sometimes too. With some of my families, it can also be sensory or language difficulties. Sometimes practicing real-life things in play can help when you have to do it in the real world.

Let's start with some activities

Contains links to affiliate websites and may receive affiliate commissions for any purchase made by you on the affiliate website using such links.

Pretend Play area-

We have a little Target cart and cash register and tons of pretend foods. We even have the Melissa and Doug store set. You don't need to buy all that though. You can use empty cereal or cookie boxes. I suggest stuffing them with newspaper and using packing tape to reinforce them so they can last a bit. When you go shopping ask for paper bags instead of plastic or you can use reusable shopping bags in your pretend store. That's all you need to make a little store. You can make your own shopping list with pictures of things you have in your store but I have a generic one in the printables for this month.

While playing in your pretend store you can ask your child for specific items to work on identifying familiar food and following directions. Take turns being the cashier and the shopper. If you have more than one child, bring in the older kids to model for the little ones. It's more of a 3-year-old skill but you can sort your food too by category. Here is a Melissa and Doug food set that has meats, dairy, bread, and produce.

Store Art-

Using markers or paint let them make signs for their stores or decorate their paper grocery bags. Give them choices of what colors they want. Work on the carrier phrase "I want..." It's not a big deal for them to know their colors yet, you want them to be able to make a choice and make requests.

Sensory Play-

I know I often wash my produce in water and vinegar after shopping. That could be a sensory play activity for a toddler. Let them help you wash their food. They also like to help to do things that we feel are like chores. You can name the items as you wash them. You can also use pretend play food and wash them like you would real food. Or hide the food in any sensory bin base you have like rice or beans. Let them scoop, dump, and dig to find the food. Again it works on naming familiar foods. Kids need a lot of repetition to start saying those words, so it's helpful to use the same words in different activities.

Storytime-

Reading books is always helpful for building language. Here are a couple of examples of books with a shopping theme.

• "Maisy Goes Shopping" by Lucy Cousins

• "A Trip to the Grocery Store" by Josie Keogh

• "Shopping with Dad" by Matt Harvey

If they're not able to sit and attend to a story, look at the pages. You can name items on the page, describe what they're doing in the story, and/or name items for them to point to.

Get in the kitchen too-

You go shopping so you can make food in the kitchen. Let them help in the kitchen too. Practicing naming food in play is for them to be able to know the food so they can request it in real life in the kitchen.

I have pretend play cutting food but letting them cut real food with a kid-safe knife is fun too. I let my little one cut some food while I make dinner. We rarely use the food for dinner and 9/10 times he just eats it after he cuts it. The most important thing is that he is kept busy and safe.

Food Matching-

You can match two parts of a food while playing with pretend cutting food or I'll have some two-piece puzzles in the printables for this month. You can put them in a sensory bin and find the pieces or just sit down to cut and match foods.

Real-life-

Many of my families have toddlers who hate shopping. Let's be honest I also have a little one who hates shopping. They don't want to be in a cart because they're big and can walk and then a short shopping trip takes so much longer, a lot of redirection. Something that can help is making them a helper. Make them a picture list of items you buy at the store like milk, apples, or cheese. Have them help find the items on their list. I also often try to use a snack to keep my little one in the cart. We have a smaller store, Trader Joe's, by us. I usually only get a few items and they have a small, child-size cart. I let my little one walk, and we often go during the week, in the middle of the day when it's not so busy. I'll usually tell him what we need to get and it's often the same items. We get some fruit, Daddy's milk, and we must find the sample guy. It helps that he knows he can walk there and knows where things are. Even if you're not letting your little one walk they can help put things in the cart. You can offer choices for their favorite snacks. "Should we get apple or Blueberry bars? Put it in the cart." Yes sometimes it takes a little longer

Printable-

Here is a little printable for you. It has a generic shopping list, an Open sign for your store, and some 2 piece puzzles to work on matching. I suggest printing and laminating for durability.

Speech Goals from The Rosetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale.

9-12 months

Says "mama" or "dada" meaningfully

Imitates consonant and vowel combinations

Imitates non-speech sounds

Vocalizes with intent frequently

Uses a word to call a person

Says one to two words spontaneously

Vocalizes a desire for a change in activities

Imitates the name of familiar objects

Attends to new words

Gives objects upon verbal request

Looks at the person saying the child's name

Performs a routine activity upon verbal request

Looks at familiar objects mentioned during a conversation

Follows simple commands occasionally

Understands simple questions

Gestures in response to verbal requests

 Verbalizes or vocalizes in response to verbal requests

Participates in speech-routine games

Identifies two body parts

12-15 months

Shakes head "no"

Says or imitates eight to ten words spontaneously

Names objects frequently

Imitates new words spontaneously

Combines vocalization and gesture to obtain a desired object

Produces three animal sounds

Wakes with a communicative call

Sings independently

Takes turns vocalizing with children

Expresses early developing modifiers

Follow one-step commands during play

Responds to requests to say words

Maintains attention to pictures

Enjoys rhymes and finger plays

Responds to "give me" command

Points to two action words in pictures

Understands some prepositions

Understands new words

Identifies three body parts on self or a doll

15-18 months

Says 15 meaningful words

Uses consonant sounds, such as /t,d,n,h/

Talks rather than uses gestures

Imitates words overheard in conversation

Asks "What's that?"

Asks for "more"

Names five to seven familiar objects upon request

Identifies six body parts or clothing items on a doll

Finds familiar objects upon request

Identifies objects by category

Understands 50 words

18-21 months

Uses single words frequently

Uses sentence-like intonational patterns

Imitates environmental noises

Verbalizes two different needs

Uses two-word phrases occasionally

Identifies four body parts and clothing items on self

Understands the commands "sit down" and "come here"

Chooses five familiar objects upon request

Understands the meaning of action words

Identifies pictures when named

21-24 months

Uses two-word phrases frequently

Uses 50 different words

Uses new words regularly

Relates personal experiences

Uses three-words phrases occasionally

Refers to self by name

Uses early pronouns occasionally

Chooses one object from a group of five upon verbal request

Follows novel commands

Follows a two-step related directions

Understands new words rapidly

24-27 months

Imitates two numbers or unrelated words upon request

Uses three-word phrases frequently

Asks for assistance with personal needs

Uses action words

Points to four words in pictures

Recognizes family member's names

Understands the concept of one

Understands size concepts

27-30 months

Names one color

Refers to self by pronoun consistently

Uses two sentence types

Responds to greetings consistently

Uses negation

Responds to simple questions

Identifies four objects by function

Understands location phrases

30-33 months

Answers questions with "yes" or "no'

Imitates a series of three numbers or unrelated words

Uses plurals

Uses prepositions

Understands five common action words

Follow two-step unrelated commands

Understands the concepts one and all

Answers yes and no questions correctly

33-36 months 

Relates recent experiences through verbalization

Uses verb forms

Expresses physical states

Converses in sentences

Counts to three

Shows interest in why and how things work

Follows a three-step unrelated command

Identifies parts of an object

Responds to wh- questions

Follows commands with two familiar attrib