The more favourable scenario: your husband is home so you get to go grocery shopping ALL ALONE. You stop at Starbucks for a latte and leisurely stroll around the store, not forgetting anything, and even pausing in the magazine isle for 10 minutes. Bliss!
The makes-you-want-to-pull-your-hair-out scenario: you are out of pretty much everything and the kids need to eat lunch. Of course, your husband is NOT home, so you have to drag all 3 kids to the grocery store. You forget most of what you came for because you spend most of your time chasing kids, looking for kids, breaking up fights, putting items back on the shelves, and sighing. Sigh.
As you can imagine (or have experienced yourself), grocery shopping alone is preferable.
However, I take the kids grocery shopping. It is sort-of a love-hate thing for me. On one hand, it is SO frustrating shopping with kids; it's like herding cats. But on the other hand, grocery shopping is a gold mine of learning experiences. Sigh.
We went grocery shopping yesterday, and I lived to tell the tale. There were many frustrating moments. In fact, if I am honest, there were mostly frustrating moments. We got the special shopping cart, with the green car in it that seats two kids, complete with a steering wheel for each. Of course, one steering wheel just isn't enough when you're a kid, so fighting with your brother is necessary. I spent much of the trip trying to get Liam and Gavin to stop wrestling. Ella was
But on the other hand, we learn so much at the grocery store (other than the obvious lesson: don't take kids to the grocery store). Ella was the keeper of the list during this particular trip. She led us through the store, reading the items, finding them on the shelves, and crossing them off as we put them in the cart. This was a LOT slower than just doing it myself, so I had to keep reminding myself of all that she was learning. Beyond just the obvious reading practice, she was learning about: only buying what you need, planning, organization, searching, value for money, flexibility (when something on the list wasn't available, or when a similar product was on a good sale), and so much more that I probably didn't even notice. Not only that, but she was learning how to function in a real society, interacting with real people, doing a real task. She was engaged in what we were doing, probably because she saw the value in it; if we didn't go to the grocery store, we would have nothing to eat. It was a task that had a purpose.
I know all these lessons could have been learned at school, but I believe it is better to learn them in "real life." How many kids are missing out on family shopping trips because they are stuck in a classroom learning about currency during math class? How much better would the "lesson" stick if they were given the task of paying for the family's groceries with a stack of real cash? Ella and Liam both use cash on a regular basis, and Ella is quite good at the on-your-feet math it takes to figure out which bills and coins to hand to the cashier. Sure, it takes a little patience, but I'm learning, too, right?
So I continue to take the kids grocery shopping. We learns lots, we interact, we spend time together. And I look forward to the day that I can hand Ella a list and a stack of cash and send her out the door. Because isn't that really the point of education - to raise confident, self-sufficient kids who can live in and contribute to society? I think so.
