Pretend Play Grocery Store for Preschoolers

Pretend play is a great way for preschoolers to learn about the world around them. Creative play that includes places your child may visit with you are ideal when it comes to learning about new environments. And a pretend play grocery store is a great place to start!

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Planning Pretend Play

When it comes to planning a day of pretend play, consider what your child is interested in.

If they love to help you cook, then a pretend pizza shop may be the best place to start. But if they’re more interested in pretending to go camping with you, then that’s where you should focus your efforts.

Maybe they’re fascinated with fire fighters, the fire station and what goes on there. If that’s the case, then you can bring that environment to them! It’s all about their interests.

If your child is interested in the grocery store or you’re studying healthy choices, playing grocery store is a great way to learn!

When you set up a fun activity that includes your child’s interest, they’ll be more likely to engage in the play and learn from it.

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Setting Up Your Creative Play Area

You can use the grocery store pretend play set as is or you can add in your own items to make it more realistic for your child. It’s completely up to you!

To create a grocery store pretend play area in your home, you’ll need some basic supplies.

A few items from around the house will work perfectly to get you started. Set up your grocery store with items from around the house. Include items such as boxes of cereal, cans of soup, bottles of juice, etc.

You can also use some organizing bins or fabric drawers to set up sections of the grocery store.

Don’t worry, the grocery play set has signs for each grocery store section to make it easier to plan what items you’ll need.

Pretend Play Grocery Store Printables

Our printable grocery store play set is a great option to help you get started with easy to print signs, forms, ID name tags and so much more. It will comes with many of the key items you need.

Our 23 page grocery store playset includes:

A cute cover to use for storage identification
An inventory checklist to take stock of shop
A grocery list to fill out for items that are running low & need to be ordered
Sale signs for pretend store items
Item price tags
Grocery store section labels
Name badges for employees
Pretend play money
Open & closed signs
Check out sign
Labels for the store items like cookies, broccoli, milk, & cheese
Grocery coupons
Department signs

This printable set will help you get started with your grocery store pretend play.

It’s a great way to engage with your kids in creative play while helping them learn about healthy choices, counting and more all while practicing social & reading skills.

DIY Pretend Play Grocery Store Ideas

No matter how you choose to set your play area up, here are some tips to get the most out of your child’s pretend play grocery store experience:

1. Talk about the different food groups with your child as they shop or set up the store. Help them identify healthy fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and proteins.

2. As you play, take turns being the shopper and the cashier. This will help your child practice important social skills like waiting their turn and following rules.

3. Brainstorm a list of items that are usually found in a grocery store before you play. This will help your child to think critically about what goes where in the store.

4. Have your child practice counting out the pretend money. You can also use this opportunity to teach them about making change.

5. Encourage your child to use their imagination! Let them come up with their own creative ideas for the pretend play grocery store.

Pretend play is a great way for kids to learn and grow. By providing them with opportunities to engage in imaginative play, you’re helping them to develop important skills that they’ll use throughout their lives.