Activities at the Supermarket - Numeracy development

There are many articles which give advice about doing the shopping with young kids. Keeping them amused seems to be the key to a calm and un-stressful trip for all. There are many ways to do this, and I’ve suggested a few which will also help with your children’s numeracy development.

These activities do take a little bit of conscious effort to start with, but once you make them part of the routine you should be able to do them without even thinking about it. Children are curious, let’s help them explore this!  

These activities are designed for preschoolers to kids in middle primary. Activities for kids in middle primary to secondary to come soon!   This is a good one for preschoolers and lower primary. Have them see how many numbers the can spot. If your child is three years old, see how many threes they can see on labels, price tags etc. For example 300 grams, $4.39, aisle 3 and so on.  

Have them count items, either which you already have or as they put them into the bag/ basket/ trolley. Say things like ‘how many tomatoes are there in that bag?’ or ‘can you put three packets of spaghetti into the trolley?’  

To investigate geometry, have a look at all the different shapes. Look at cylinders (cans), rectangular prisms (cereal boxes), cones (carrots), spheres (oranges) and cubes (some small boxes eg chocolates). How many different shapes can you find? How many different sized cans/ bottles/ boxes/ packets can you find?  

You might want to compare items as you put them in the trolley. Which can is bigger/ smaller? Which box is heavier/ lighter? Which fruit is smoother/ furrier? Which dairy item is colder/ warmer? Then look at three similar items – small, medium and big. Then go to more items and so on. Being able to compare things and order things is an important mathematical skill.  

While you’re piling things in the trolley (and working on geometry at the same time), look at the best way to stack the trolley. Show your child/ren how to put the big boxes/ cans at the bottom and the smaller things on top. Heavy thing on bottom, light things on top. Show them how some shapes (like boxes) fit neatly together, others (like cans and fruit) don’t. Some cans (like tuna) often have little groves and ridges on them so they’ll stack together. Show your child how this can work for one, two or ten cans! (I have been known to use small tuna cans as stacking blocks to keep a toddler amused in the trolley, at least until aisle four when the trolley begins to fill up and the child runs out of room!)  

Another skill which little ones can develop at the supermarket is classifying. Sorting items into groups based on similarities is important in many areas, including maths, science and social studies. At the checkout it’s a great place to do this (especially because it will distract the kids from the lollies at eye level!) Have them help you put the items on the conveyor belt in groups – probably the ones you already group them in without thinking. Try bathroom/ laundry items, cold meat, cold dairy, fruit and veg, cans, bottles, boxes. If your child can tell toothpaste from tins and butter from bread, they can do this one!  

I hope that these activities help keep your children amused at the shops to make for a more pleasant experience for all, and that their numeracy skills get a good chance to grow too!

Libby