The Grocery Store Is Open
Each child has a tote bag and a house (their hoop); in the middle is the grocery store, full of balls, cones and beanbags. They go shopping for whatever the teacher calls out, put it in the bag and carry it home, practicing picking up, packing, unpacking and carrying while moving.
How to play
- Each child picks a hoop house somewhere in the play area and hangs the bag on their arm (1 min).
- The teacher calls the shopping list: "One ball!" Everyone goes to the store, puts it in the bag and carries it home (2 min).
- Longer lists: "A ball and a beanbag," "Two cones" (2 min).
- Now we return things: empty the bag at home and take the items back to the store one by one (1 min).
- The store closes: we stretch our arms and fold up the bag (1 min).
Rules
- Only take what the teacher asks for.
- Put it in the bag before leaving the store.
- No pushing at the store: if someone is picking something up, wait.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, one item per trip, with the houses close to the store.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, two different items per trip.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, three-item lists or colors: "a red cone and a blue ball."
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: hang the bag on the wheelchair, and a classmate hands over anything they can't reach on the floor.
- Autism: show a picture of each item as well as saying it.
- Deaf or hard of hearing: hold up the real item before each round.
Learning goals
- Pick up, pack and unpack objects of different sizes.
- Remember a simple instruction while moving.
- Warm up with back-and-forth runs.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Tote bags: 25
- Balls: 20
- Cones: 20
- Beanbags: 20
- Hoops: 25
Teacher tip
Put the store in the middle and the houses all around the edge so there's distance without head-on rushes. Count out loud with them as they pack the bag.
PatioLab has "The Grocery Store Is Open" and 8714 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More warm-ups for Elementary
«Ahora que Vamos Despacio»: The Silly-Fibs Stroll
We stroll very slowly singing the traditional Spanish song «Ahora que vamos despacio» («Now that we're going slowly, let's tell some fibs»), and on each «tralará» we…
«El Cocherito Leré»: The Hopping Carriage
We're carriages trotting around the yard, and on every «leré» in the traditional Spanish song «El cocherito leré» («the little coachman») we jump with feet together.
«Sal de Ahí, Chivita»: The Get-Out-Little-Goat Chain
The little goat won't leave the field, so in this traditional Spanish cumulative song we call the wolf, the dog, the stick, the fire, the water and the ox.
A Bandage Where I'm Tagged
A few children tag holding a scarf; anyone tagged puts on a “bandage” by placing a hand exactly where they were touched and keeps running that way, and after a second…
A Walk Through the Pole Forest
We stand plastic poles upright in cones with holes and the playground becomes a forest of tall trees.
Achoo, Into Your Elbow!
Children move around like animals and when the teacher goes “Ah… ah… achoo!”, they stop and hide their face in their elbow as if sneezing or coughing.