Free Resource: Little Learner Grocery Cards

One day, I was pushing my 3 year old through the grocery store when her tiny hand reached out and plucked a plum from a nearby bin. Before I could ask her not to touch, she took a big bite out of the fruit and casually placed it back. Of course, that plum made its way home with us. Fun fact, my daughter doesn’t like them.

When our son came home I remember people telling me how difficult it was to do anything with two children was difficult. Taking two kids to the grocery store was going to be near impossible. For years, I avoided it. I took my son to the store snuggled in a sling while my daughter was at her one day a week co-op. When the pandemic hit, we switched over to online ordering and social distancing pick up.

Because of our multiple food allergies, and the fact that unsafe groceries have been substituted weekly in our orders, its become necessary for me to take the kids to the store for our weekly shopping.

Everyone who said it was right, taking two kids to the grocery store is not for the faint of heart. Both my kids are pretty well behaved but they’re also kids and after a 2 years of not frequenting stores, they tend to get bored easily. My daughter is easily distracted by the opportunity to help but my two year old, that’s another story.

When N was little I made her grocery shopping cards. Every week I would add cards to her shopping list so she could look for those items during our trip and feel involved. Now that EJ is almost three, having a shopping list of his own may help him feel more involved with the grocery trips.

I cut out the individual cards and hole punched the top left corner and then secured them with a loop clip. Each week I can switch out the cards as needed so he can help me look for his items. It feels almost like a scavenger hunt for toddlers.

Since I can’t be the only mom with a helpful toddler in the grocery store I decided to share these with all of you. You can access the cards by clicking this link.