We’ve been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar at our house and we wanted to continue the fun. So, I came up with a way for my kiddos to review the fruits in the story while helping me at the grocery store!
Check out the book box craft we did that reviews the days of the week: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft. It’ll get your child familiar with the story before doing the grocery store scavenger hunt game.
My son loves to help me put things in the grocery cart. Sometimes, he sneaks in things I don’t want in the cart (cookies anyone?). So, hopefully this grocery store scavenger hunt helps me not have to put 5 boxes of cookies back on the shelf.
Keep reading to find out how to make the cards and how to play the game:
What You Need For The Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt Game
- grocery store ads
- colorful cardstock
- glue stick
- black marker
- scissors
- paper lunch bag
How to Make the Cards
Step One. Pick the fruits from The Very Hungry Caterpillar you’d like to include on the cards. I even picked fruits and added some veggies that’s weren’t in the book to the stack.
Step Two. Find those fruits and veggies in the grocery store ads and cut them out.
Step Three. Cut 2 sheets of card stock into quarter sheets to make cards.
Step Four. Glue the fruit and veggie cutouts onto the cards (one type of fruit or veggie per card).
Step Five. Write the word that represents the fruit under the picture of the fruit on each card.
How to Play the Game
Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar before going to the grocery store. Put all the cards in a paper bag and tell your preschooler, “we’re going to play a game at the grocery store!”. Take the bag with you to the store (no need for a special visit; simply do this on your next trip). When you visit the produce section, shake up the bag and say, “Were going to play a game! And go on a hunt for the fruits and veggies that are in the Very Hungry Caterpillar! I need you to pull out a card from this bag.” Have your preschooler draw a card. “Oh look! You drew a (fill in the fruit/veggie)!” Point to the picture and then the word. “Let’s go find it!” Have your preschooler find it. After he does, have him give you the card and you say “let’s do it again,” and repeat until all the cards are pulled out of the bag.
Importance of the Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt
Your preschooler will notice the picture on the card of the strawberries, for instance, and understand it has meaning (that the picture represents strawberries). Then, in the store he may notice a sign with strawberries and will point it out and say, “Look, mom! Strawberries!”
By writing “strawberries” on the card, you’re helping your preschooler recognize that print and pictures are different but connected.
Pinnell and Fountas authors of The Continuum of Literacy Learning say that “even before your preschooler can read, he’ll begin to develop some awareness of how written language works. Early understandings about literacy include knowing that: print and pictures are different but connected, you read the print and not the pictures, words are groups of letters with a space on either side, there is a difference between a word and a letter, there are upper and lower case letters, a letter is always the same and you look at the parts to identify it.”
So, you can use these game cards for word association and help your preschooler get familiar with seeing a word with the picture that represents it. And playing games while learning is always fun! It helps my son retain things better.
Please note that The Mama Workshop is not a credentialed teacher. This is just an activity to supplement your child’s learning. If you do this activity, snap a pic and tag @themamaworkshop on Instagram! I’d love to see how much fun you had!
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