Grocery Shopping with Kids

Collecting bananas!

Do you bring your kids grocery shopping? Do you enjoy it or avoid it all costs? Grocery shopping with three little kids is not easy or very enjoyable... some times. If I go at the wrong time of day with hungry kids that need to pee it's going to be a disaster. 

When we moved to UAE last year I started going grocery shopping without the whole family (well Ben would tag along), but after a while it felt kind of lonely and I felt like the kids were missing out on some big learning experiences by staying home. Plus, grocery shopping is fun! I have so many great memories grocery shopping with my Mom when I was a kid. 

So here is a quick and simple guide to how we do grocery shopping with two toddlers and a baby!

1. While I'm making my list I cut out a few images from old store fliers and make a small list for the kids with about 5 to 7 items. To help build reading skills I also write the name of the item. Most of the time I only make one list because I want to foster a cooperative learning experience. Even though some times this means they fight over who gets which item off the list I have seen a really nice transition from fighting to cooperatively working to get an item, such as the bananas in the photo above.

This one is not very pretty but you get the idea

2. We go when the store is empty and everyone is in good spirits. For us, that means 8 a.m.

3. When we get to the store we go over the list together. We practice reading the words and the number of each item, such as the 7 milks we needed last week!

Abe's cart filled with milk - someone is seeking maximum effort!

4. I guide them if needed but since they know the store and routine pretty well by now they know where to look for everything. 

5. We unload at the checkout and have a snack after our hard work!

By giving them this type of work outside the home I hope Abe and Mimi are building a healthy connection to food and gaining an understanding into what it takes to put food in our bellies even if we are not growing it ourselves. And of course, it builds autonomy by giving them responsibility and making them feel valued by participating in important work for the family.

I hope we've inspired you to take your kids grocery shopping and please share your experiences with us on Facebook!

Our Linear Calendar

Since March we have been using this fabulous linear calendar. Although I could have easily just bought a typical wall calendar I decided to try something different. I've been reading here and there about linear calendars and how effective they are for younger children to understand the sequence of events. A lot of the calendars I came across were way too long and large for the space I had available and they seemed too confusing and cluttered for what I had in mind. I wanted something clear, user-friendly and manageable. 

I made our calendar based off the model from Pocket of Preschool. I loved how easy it was to use and how it helped the children see their own schedule. There are a few things that I have changed to make this calendar work better for us like the "Today" dot and including the days of the week.

Using the Calendar

                                                           

We use this calendar everyday! It is the first thing we do at the start of our work cycle and the kids are always eager to see what is special about that day or something coming up later in the month. I always invite them to come help with the calendar and write an "X" over the previous day. We do a short discussion about yesterday, today and tomorrow, and discuss any important upcoming events.

When it's time to begin a new month we change the month card, wipe off all the "X" marks on the number cards and remove all days of the week and picture cards. We work together to replace the days of the week in the right order for the new month and place picture cards with the correct days. So for example, every Sunday is our cleaning day, so we post a little picture of cleaning up or on Tuesdays we have Arabic so we post a card showing Arabic letters. The kids have really responded well to this calendar. It has definitely helped them understand the concept of time more clearly and have a better understanding of what to expect in the upcoming days.

What I love most is that this calendar gives the children autonomy in that they know what they are doing on a particular day. They know what is coming tomorrow or in a certain number of days. Some times they even remind me of something we should be doing! It also teaches them about responsibility and working cooperatively to set the calendar each month and take care of it throughout the month.

Picture Cards

These are some of the picture cards we use to give you an idea. We have routine events like Friday prayer, Arabic and cleaning days and then other special events like traveling, Eid, a play date, or a birthday.

*Please note these are Google images*

Some Changes

I'd really like to find a way to display the months in order somewhere on the wall along with a display of the changing seasons. I'm still brainstorming but this is definitely something I want to incorporate into our calendar activities in the coming months. 

Do you use a linear calendar? How do you make it work in your space? Share your experiences with us on Facebook!

We're Back!

Ok, so it has been almost a year since my last post. I guess I'm not much of the blogger type but I'm really going to make an effort this school year! Although there is not much posted here on the blog we have been quite busy the past school year. We moved countries, lived in a hotel for a quite a while, added a new person to the family (Welcome, Ben!) and moved again within the same country. Let's just say last year was not my best year for being organized and on top of things. I feel like I was in survival mode for most of the year, but we did still progress with our homeschooling adventures. Here are some photos from our work this past year:

Cutting skills have improved immensely!

Setting the table on a super small table, haha!

Hammering nails in some old tree trunks

Metal insets were a popular work for both A & M 

Dates, anyone?

Working together on sound games

Checking the linear calendar for our activity that day

We have a new work bench now!

Pink tower + Brown stairs = cool creations :)

House work is a part of school work, too.

The moon (Mimi) orbiting the Earth (Abe)

And when it rains in the desert you drop everything and go jump in some puddles!

This school year we are feeling refreshed and ready for a very productive year, God-Willing. Abe is now 4 and Mimi, 3, so they are both at the primary level (ages 3-6) which means teaching them has been a little easier because Mimi is more focused and interested in the work I'm introducing to Abe. We are looking forward to introducing the decimal system, addition and subtraction and watching Abe's writing and reading skills progress and for Mimi to begin the journey to reading this year, as well. Practical life work is still extremely important and a lot of fine motor work will still be on our shelves along with tons of sensory materials because refinement of the senses is just so important for little ones.

And finally, the most exciting and blessed parts about this school year is that we get to start it off in our very own school room. We have had it since we moved in December to our new place. We have really made it our special learning space, and I just can't wait to start the year with it finally complete and to share it with other children in our community. A separate post is in the works with a full tour, but for now a simple photo :)

Until next time...peace be with you!