Grocery shopping with children is no small feat, especially if you have a big family. This summer, go screen-free with my life skills bingo series and learn how to grocery shop with kids!

Grocery shopping with kids is a struggle. 

Unless you’re Meagan from Whiskey and Rosary, in which case it’s an art.

Meagan is a Texan homeschooling mom of many, and man – does she know how to rock a trip to the grocery store! From task assignment to list division and everything in between, Meagan has some fantastic advice to help you grocery shop with kids.

HAPPY SUMMERTIME FAMILY!  Now that you have learned how to plan a menu together, it is time to GROCERY SHOP!!  Here are your 5 goals to achieve this LIFE SKILL on your BINGO card:  

Make a List

Everyone gets a job!  Put someone in charge of the list, another person ready with the menu, another at the pantry, another at the refrigerator, and a runner to check bathrooms and the laundry room.  

1. The person making the list should make three columns: drug store, cold stuff, pantry stuff.  
2. The person running to the bathrooms and laundry room should look for the basics needed and report back with needs (soaps, toilet paper, etc.) and have the list maker add these items to the DRUG STORE column.  
3. The MENU person should call out what the meal plan is and the parents can help the group determine the ingredients.  
4. The PANTRY and REFRIGERATOR people then look for said ingredients and the LIST MAKER writes down whatever needs to be purchased.  REFRIGERATOR and PANTRY people also need to take time to quickly organize and make room for fresh groceries, removing any out dated food and wiping up any big spills.

Don’t forget to also check for basic staples that you might be out of which might not make it to the menu (coffee, pet supplies, adult beverages, etc.).  

Check for Coupons and Sales

Gather at the table with your list and local ads for your area.  Check coupon apps on your smart phones as well, depending where you shop, and make a plan together.  The LIST MAKER can use different colored highlighters to indicate the different stores you may need to shop at (ex:  Costco is all yellow, Aldi is pink and Kroger is blue).  If any paper coupons are being used, put them in an envelope for safe keeping (this can be a job as well!).

Get the Car Ready

Everyone head to the car with a trash bag and laundry basket to do a quick clean up.  Make sure your trunk/cargo space has your reusable bags as well as a cooler or insulated bag ready for shopping.  Load up your refillable water bottles and a snack and don’t forget your coupons and list!

Shop

At each store, you need a

1. BASKET PUSHER (or two if you’re a big family like us)
2. BABY WHISPERER (again, if you have a little that needs attention like peek-a-boo and sippy cup retrieval)
3. LIST KEEPER to read off what’s next and check off items
4. COUPON KEEPER to make sure the proper item is selected in order to apply the coupons, and
5. CART LOADERS/UNLOADERS to carefully load the cart in an orderly fashion and unload it at the check-out counter.  

Unload and Put Away

After all of the shopping is done, EVERYONE needs to help unload the car.  The REFRIGERATOR HELPER needs to be ready to put away cold stuff quickly and orderly.  Once the car is unloaded, have a small child in charge of gathering bags (save the plastic ones to use as trash bin liners and have them fold up the reusable ones, checking for spills first).  PANTRY person needs to put the groceries away in an organized fashion, and everyone else can be runners to the bathroom (PUT IT AWAY, don’t just drop it off).  HELP EACH OTHER until every item is put away.  

Celebrate

WAY TO GO TEAM!  YOU DID IT!  Sit, have a snack, and talk about what you would do differently next time and what your favorite parts were.  Did you get comments while shopping?  Talk about that.  How did it make them feel?  If this worked well, consider doing it regularly (whether that’s once a month or weekly depending on your patience level lol).  

God bless your journey!

Meagan Montez is a Catholic blogging Mama in Texas where she and her sweetheart stay busy raising and homeschooling their large family in the big city.  She shares her heart and reflections on life at Whiskey and Rosary.  Also, connect with her on IG  and on FB where you can get the daily gospel delivered to your feed as well as links to great blog posts for encouragement in living out our faith.

If you enjoyed this installment of Screen-free Summer Life Skills Bingo, check out the rest of the series here.