100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 70: Oliver's Grocery Store

Today's activity was inspired by my cousin-in-law's post on her blog. You set up play food, real food (if you're brave), or empty containers for your child to put in his pretend grocery cart. Then, you have your child take the items to check out.

Oliver got a grocery cart for Christmas, and I don't think he's fully understood what it's supposed to be. Today, I set out all of the empty containers I've saved, and I told him we were going to do pretend shopping at Oliver's pretend grocery store. I have to be careful and explain that it's pretend, or else he'll get upset that we're not going to the real store.

I had to explain to him that the plastic cart was a grocery cart. For some reason, he didn't see it. Once I told him to put the groceries in the cart (that's what I tell him at the real grocery store), he got into it.Oliver had to stop and fix the lid before continuing to load his grocery items in his cart. His grocery items consist of an empty Eggo waffles box that I taped shut, an empty box of macaroni and cheese that is taped shut, an empty container of Ovaltine, an empty milk carton that was rinsed very well, and an empty container of Greek yogurt. I really liked my cousin's idea of organizing the food by food groups, but I don't have enough to do that yet. Be sure to drink your Ovaline, Oliver! Man, that's my second reference to A Christmas Story in as many days.Then, it came time for check out. I pretended to scan his groceries, and I put them in a sack. I don't have a play cash register, and I'm embarrassed to say that I don't even own a calculator. I dug around in my wallet and found an old "Perks Card" from when I worked at Starbucks. I gave it to Oliver and had him slide it along the couch to check out. He loved it!

This was such a good game for Oliver. I have a feeling a lot of toddlers in his age range will enjoy this activity. You can teach food groups by sorting the food items by food group.  If your child is a little older than mine, you can teach math or money by incorporating a toy cash register. This is a great activity for a wide range of ages. I give "Oliver's Grocery Store" an A!