Turn “shop time” into “talk time” with your child! The grocery store is filled with all kinds of colors, shapes, foods, and other things you can talk about. As you shop, share fun back-and-forth conversations about the things you see and do together.

1. Fruits come in all shapes and sizes! Ask your child, “Which ones are HEAVY? Which ones are LIGHT?

2. Let’s play I-Spy! Say to your child, “I spy a crunchy orange carrot. What vegetable do you spy?”

3. So many yummy fruits around! Ask your child, “What are your favorite fruits?”

4. Banana, zanana, fanana! Ask your child, “What other words rhyme with banana?”

5. Let’s be shape explorers! Ask your child, “What shapes can we find?”

6. Let’s go on a rainbow hunt! With your child, try to find foods that are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

7. Let’s make a fruit pattern! Apple, banana, apple, banana…What comes next?

8.  Ask your child, “Can we find a tiny fruit? Medium? Big? Humongous?”

9. Milk makes our bones healthy and strong! Ask your child, “Where does milk come from?”

10. Milk comes from cows! Ask your child, “What sound does a cow make? A dog? A chicken?”

11. Let’s count! Together, count the foods you put into your cart. For example, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Five cans all together!”

12. While checking out, play a fun game of peek-a-boo using a cereal box or piece of fruit from your cart.

13. Sing your way through the store! Make up fun songs about the foods you’re looking for and putting in your basket.

14. While waiting in line, sing fun songs to make time pass more quickly. Try singing fun tunes like, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” as you point to your baby’s body parts.

15. As you walk around the aisles of the store, what is your child looking at or pointing to? Use these moments to spark back-and-forth conversations with your child.

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