Take one kiddie desk and chair, add a cash register toy, calculator, and paper bags and you have a shop. Lay out a cloth with some play fruit and veggies, and you have a greengrocer! Add two little girls, and you have a tonne of fun!
Eden was keen to play the shopkeeper, and Ava was keen to play ... um, well ... to play the kid who puts everything in her mouth.
Eden swiped the vegetables as though they had barcodes, packed them in paper bags, and gave them to me to cook dinner with.
Eden swiped the vegetables as though they had barcodes, packed them in paper bags, and gave them to me to cook dinner with.
A set-up like this is a fantastic platform for teaching colours, names of fruit/vegetables, categorising (for older children : is this a fruit or vegetable? Does this grow on a tree or in the ground?), maths skills (again, generally for older children: If I have $2, how many lemons can I buy at 50 cents each? If you had 6 apples and I bought 3, how many apples are left?) and of course, allows your child to role play which is valuable in itself!
Another version of this is to use the fruit and vegetables you have in your home, teaching your child how to handle them to avoid bruising, so you are not wasting any of them. If you choose to use real produce, take the time to talk with your tot about what they feel like, how they smell, which one is heavier/smaller/smoother, and so on.
After playing with your own produce shop, why not take your child to the Fruit and Veg shop and talk about what you see? Let them handle produce like coconuts and pineapples - they have very interesting textures! Point out new fruit/veg that your child may not have seen before (eg: persimmons, pomegranetes, lychees, etc), and if you're up for it, why not buy one or two new fruits/veg to try as a family? It's on our to-do list!
Thanks for reading! ~ L.
Linking up at:
No comments:
Post a Comment