Today is our Tuesday, so instead of crafting today we headed out to the store to shop for the kids we picked off the giving tree at our church. Our church helps the needy families in our community by hanging up tags on the tree with the wish lists of the kids and parents who cant afford to buy gifts this season! So the girls and I picked a few tags off the tree on Sunday. Since the last few days were pretty rough around here I thought that getting out would be good for us! ;) I also noticed that with Christmas being so close the girls are getting selfish and have wanted everything lately. I was hoping that taking time to think about what another child would like would help them as we walked through the store. It did! I always am trying to find way to help my kids learn to share with others and this was a fun way to do it! They did a great job and were able to find great stuff for all the kids. I think they had fun too! I have alot of my shopping done and I am hoping that it will make it possible to do other stuff during December! After we shopped I took the girls out to lunch. It was a good day. The only thing that made it a little tricky was the constant chilly rain and the wind (a blistering wind is what Bunny called it). In fact the parking lot of the one store had at least 6 inches of water sitting in it! I was lucky to find a parking spot on the high ground and pick our way little island by little island! :) Do you do something special to help your kids learn how to give to others? I would love to hear what you do! I am always looking for new ideas!
As always I have a picture of our day!
So as I ventured out with my little group I thought a bit about what makes a successful shopping trip with kids. For me here are a few tips to making it a bit of a success:
1: Make sure that you set the expectations clearly before entering each store! (What can they have or not have, what can do or touch, etc)
2: Make sure that there is a set form of discipline if they don't meet expectations (no treat, or timeout, or whatever else works for you!)
3: Make sure that no one is hungry (Nothing is worse then hungry kids)
4: Make sure that everyone is well rested. (my mistake today, Pup was pretty tired)
5: Know what you are getting and enlist the kids help! (Spending too much time browsing is hard on kids)
6: Reward the kids at the end! ( I like to finish the day with a little treat of some kind. We will either get some food or share a candy bar, or something small like that)
Those are my thought and how I handle shopping with my kiddos! Now this is not always fool proof, but it does help! Its the holidays and we all are going to need to tackle the crowds and what not at some point. It may as well be as enjoyable as it can be! :) How do you shop with your kiddos at this time of year? So stop by and leave me a comment! I LOVE to hear from you! Happy Shopping and Sharing!
I really admire your family for thinking about others during this time of year. Unfortunately I have been in company of those who are speaking about all the toys that they have brought for their own children for Christmas. I know discussing expectations is very important, my kids are at the point now, that we say it in unison(lol). Love the photo of your two girls eating their lunch. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDiscovering Montessori
I can't agree more with #3. Many errand trips have gone horribly wrong due to one (or both) of my kids being hungry! Love the pics of your girls. They are seriously so cute!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Discovering Montessori for stopping by! I love that your kids can say the expectations with you! ;) At least they know what they need to do!
ReplyDeleteLori Thanks so much stopping by! I have acctially stopped shopping and bought candy in the middle of shopping to stave off the crazy hunger (for the kid too)! ;) Things are so much better when we arent hungry! I think my girls are pretty cute too! But I am a little biased!
I would add make sure no-one needs the toilet! Many a shopping trip has been kyboshed by someone needing to go and not saying until it was too late..... if you know what I mean!
ReplyDeleteWhen my three were smaller I would make each child a pictorial shopping list - with either photos or hand drawn pictures. They loved looking our for their items! When they got older and could read the lists were written. I started with phonic words - buns, lemons, plums etc and added decodable words as their reading improved.
Now - we haven't used a supermarket for a year and we go to markets and farm shops or small, local shops. The children do the shopping!
Amen Anna!!!!! You are so right, I dont know how I forgot that one! I hate it when you forget to take them before you leave and then try and find a bathroom in the store! It worse when they just dont make it! I have had to buy new clothes in the store to fix that problem! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a picture list! I tried it once with Bunny when she was much smaller and I forgot about it! I bet she would love it now! Thanks for reminding me!