Infant/Toddler

So much language can be learned at the market! There are many different types of scientific language to use with young children, such as physical descriptions of foods. By using descriptive language, you are providing your child with information which can be used later to classify various foods. Positional language and names of objects are also useful for science. As you stroll down the various aisles, use these different categories with your child, and encourage her to talk as she practices her growing vocabulary.

Descriptive language: Describe the things you see by color, shape, size, smell, etc. “Grapefruits and oranges are both round, but they are different. The grapefruits are yellow and bigger than the oranges.” Or, “Lemons and grapefruit are both yellow, but the lemons aren’t really round and are so much smaller.” Encourage your child to consider weight as well: “Which do you think is heavier—the lime or the potato? Let’s compare!”

Positional Language: There are positional words like in front of, next to, etc., which can be used to describe what you both see. For example, “We’re going to buy some potatoes. Look how the potatoes are placed on top of each other. And the potatoes are right next to the apples.” This language is useful for describing the physical science of position and motion.

Names of various foods and their packaging: There are names for all of the things you’ll find at the market: the different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, etc. How the foods are packaged can lead to later understanding of why certain materials benefit from certain kinds of packaging: “Here are cans of corn. Remember that we saw corn with the fresh fruits and vegetables? That wasn’t in a can. I wonder why sometimes corn is in a can and sometimes it isn’t?”

Preschooler/Kindergartner

Smells: The fresh food aisles of the market contain many new and exciting smells. And smell is an important tool for science. Spend a few moments near the apples and take a deep breath. “Do apples smell the same as melons? Let’s find out!”

Vegetables: As often as possible, share with your child which parts of the plant each item is. Roots such as carrots and beets often appear with their green leafy tops; point these parts out to your child, and when you return home with your purchase, you can investigate the vegetable further with questions like “Is there evidence that the root of the plant was once buried in the ground? How can you tell?” Garlic is a bulb. You can ask, “What do you think we’d find out by planting some of our garlic?” Visit www.kidsgardening.org for more information on planting with children.

Fruits: Supermarkets carry a wide range of fruits, but it is not obvious to young children that these are parts of plants. By definition, the fruit of a plant is the part which contains seeds. The word “vegetable” refers to all plants. So, the part of the green pepper we eat is both the fruit of the plant and a vegetable. We also eat stems (celery), seeds (peanuts) and roots (carrots). Ask your child if he can tell by looking whether or not a tomato or green pepper contains seeds. Follow up at home with the fruits you have purchased by looking together for the presence of seeds when you slice the tomato or green pepper. Consult books or the internet together to find out more about how the particular plant grows. This will help to make a connection between the fruit as it appears in the supermarket and how it grew and developed into this fruit.

First Grader/Reader-Writer

Weighing produce: Take a few minutes while shopping for produce to make some comparisons. Wonder aloud: “I wonder which is heavier, these five apples or these five pears?” Ask your child to help you determine this with the scales that are provided in the produce section. A scale is an important tool of science; modeling the use of one for your child can help her to understand how such a tool is used in the “real world.”

Comparison shopping: Your child can be given tasks that help him to apply his reading skills. As you stroll down the aisle, ask him to find something on your list, such as skim milk. Encourage him to read the nutritional label to differentiate among the different kinds of milk: “Please let me know how much fat is in the skim milk as compared to the whole milk.” Or, when looking at two different sizes of containers, ask “Which box of cereal is larger? How much larger?” This kind of shopping can model the use of data in making an informed decision about what to buy.

Food origins: Most of us purchase food from grocery stores rather than from its source. As a result, many young children have no idea where so much of our food (eggs, butter, bread, etc.) originates. Make a point of encouraging your reader-writer to do some research at the library or back at home about where different types of foods come from. In some cases you can even make these foods (bread, butter) yourself, or pay a visit to the original source, such as a farm, to see where eggs come from.