Hobbies And Interests
Grocery Store Bingo
"Grocery Store Bingo" combines a classic game with the chore of supermarket shopping. Before heading to the grocery store, parents prepare bingo cards by folding a few pieces of 8-1/2-by-11-inch paper in half, until they have 16 squares on each paper. On the cards, parents cut out sale items as they appear in a grocery store circular and paste them to spaces. For instance, one space may contain "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" or "3 for $1." Spaces also may include images of items such as a dozen eggs, a 1-gallon container of milk or another item, a 5-pound bag of sugar or another item, and so forth. At the grocery store, parents distribute the bingo cards and a marker to the kids, who seek out items on their cards. Upon seeing an item or sale, kids mark the space containing the item with an "X." The first kid to mark an "X" on four items in a row, whether diagonally, horizontally or vertically, wins.
Make A Match
Kids help parents find essential shopping list items in "Make a Match." After parents give each child a copy of the shopping list, kids cross off each item as parents put it in the cart/wagon. To involve kids more in the shopping process, parents may give clues about items and have kids pick them out and place them in the cart. The kid who has the most items crossed out on her list wins; if all participants have the same amount of items crossed out, they all win.
Round Them Up
Upon getting on line at the checkout, parents have kids group items starting with the same letter and place them on the conveyor belt. Bananas go with bread, cereal goes with crackers and coffee, and so forth. The kid gathering all like-lettered items correctly, without a mistake, wins. As a variation, kids may group items by color, edibility or non-edibility, shape or size.
Scavenger Shop
Parents challenge kids to find items in "Scavenger Shop," limiting the scavenger shopping to one aisle or department at a time. Kids may search for items fitting any of the following scenarios: family members&' favorite brand of food; items containing certain images on the packaging; or, items starting with certain letters or letter combinations (such as "I" for "Ice cream" and "Italian Ices" in the dairy section, or "ch" for "Cherries" in the produce section). For each item, parents keep track of who locates and names the correct item/items first. The kid with the most correct answers wins.
Weight Training
At the scale in the grocery store&'s produce section, kids help parents weigh various items. As parents place selections on the scale, kids write each item&'s weight on a piece of paper. The kid recording the most accurate weight for each item, or who has the most accurate weight measurements for a group of items, wins.