May we have your attention? We need a clean up in Aisle 2!

To end our year in preschool, we set up a Grocery Store themed center.  If I'm not mistaken, I think that this ended up being the preschoolers' favorite theme of the year!  Our grocery store had different sections in it to help the preschoolers learn category words such as fruit, vegetables, meat, etc.  When playing in the center, the preschoolers also had many opportunities to act out the roles of various store employees.  They used dramatic play to act out being a cashier, stocking the shelves, being a bagger and even cleaning up spills through out the store.  The preschoolers also had the opportunity to practice some math skills by counting the number of food items purchased, weighing various fruits and vegetables, counting money, exchanging/purchasing goods for money, writing checks, using credit cards responsibly and interacting with each other for a specific purpose during the entire time.  We also discussed needs and wants at the grocery store and talked about how all moms and dads have to make important choices for their families when they go to the grocery store.

Of course, the preschoolers loved pushing the shopping carts around and loading up their baskets with all sorts of food items.  This allowed us to talk about the words for the many different food items that were available for purchase.  Lastly, the preschoolers were able to add a literacy component to their dramatic play by writing a grocery list, reading the labels on the packages and reading the open/closed door sign.  In the end, a lot of fun was had by all of the preschoolers.  However, they learned some very valuable communication skills and enhanced their vocabulary in a very, purposeful way!