Back in the 1950’s my dad built me some wooden shelves so I could play shopping. My playmates and I would often shop in our grocery store and to this day I like to go food shopping.
Creative play is an important learning tool for children and they need all the open-ended play time they can get. Setting up a grocery store that is not as permanent as the one I had in my basement can be built with ImagiBRICKS toy blocks. These giant cardboard building blocks can be purchased online and come in red, orange, purple, green and timber-look.
The kids in your neighborhood will help you collect empty cereal boxes, cans, pasta boxes, asprin boxes, diaper boxes, etc. Design your store with the toy blocks then place your products on your shelves.
Get together and price all your cans and boxes and make some carts out of old boxes. Kids will have a ball shopping in their very own store and this pretend game will help provide them opportunities to learn organizational skills, mathematical skills and important problem solving skills.
Children can take turns collecting the play money and giving change. After they have finished shopping each child can load his purchases in a wagon and go to her own “house”; which could also be built with the building block toys.
Tags: building block toys, giant cardboard building blocks, toy blocks