Lately, the toddlers have been engaging in the dramatic play area, creating their own "shopping" experiences. Often they are found grabbing a play purse off the shelf, slinging it over their shoulder, before saying their "good-byes!" to their educators and friends and then walking away to another area of the room.
Where were they going? "Shopping!!", thats always the answer, and off they would go to another area of the room before returning with a toy apple, cupcake or egg, and occasionally sharing their groceries with a hungry staff ready to "bite" into some plastic food!
To scaffold on these repeated shopping experiences, that the children engage in frequently, the educators set up a toddler market. Tables were set up with sorted bins of play fruits, vegetables, dairy items, meats, breads and sweets. Baskets were provided for the customers to gather their items before proceeding to the check out area, where a table and chair had been transformed with a register and a toddler cashier ready to cash out each customer. Beforehand, the toddlers were provided with a dressing area. Dress up clothes including firefighter coats, a variety of hats, skirts and purses were provided for the toddlers to build on their autonomy by making their choices of what they would like to wear when on their trip to the grocery store. They continued building their independence and self help skills as they attempted to dress themselves in the clothes and place the purses on their shoulders.
Social skills were being developed as the children approached the market, picked up their baskets and browsed the shelves for delicious food to buy alongside their peers. Immediately, Maverick took on the first roll as cashier as he typed out the "prices" and "weighed" the food on the cash registers scale. Turn taking went fairly smoothly, as he was followed by Miles, then Wells and a few others tried out the roll of cashier. Many of the children were content using their imagination to shop and buy their groceries. Isla was a shopping wizard, as she actually wore a cape when she moved around filling her basket. Charlie put on a firefighter coat as he moved between shopping and the cash register taking on different roles. This activity had all of the children happily playing for majority of the morning! They enjoyed using their imagination, taking turns (with some assistance) with the items and filling in different roles as they cooperatively played with their friends.
To continue to scaffold on their interest, we invite all our toddler families to take them to the grocery store. Give them a picture with food to look for, or ask them to choose a fruit to buy or pick a box of crackers from the shelf. They will continue to build their independence, autonomy, self confidence and self esteem as they are given a role on a real shopping trip!
