Building Together #4 - Grocery stores and asian markets

Working as a team

This week the children from Water Group transformed our drama area into a grocery store (an idea extended from the children when we were building Safeway in our Water Town). After setting up our store, we played a song game:
(tune: London Bridge)

Oh, we are going to the grocery store, the grocery store, the grocery store.

We are going to the grocery store

to buy some groceries. 


The children took turns being the cashier and shopper during the game.

Paying for the groceries

In addition, the children talked about how people have to work together in order to run the grocery store. They noticed how it is really convenient for shoppers to buy things because they don't have to go from store to store to get what they want. I shared with the children that not every culture has grocery stores, some have open markets where vendors gather together in a space to sell their products. I shared my experience as a child in Taiwan. Our family would shop at open markets and we would go so often that we made connections with the vendors at the market. Like my family, many people feel comfortable and at ease when going from stand to stand. At vegetable stands, the vendors would always throw in free green onions, garlics, or other kinds of spices. At meat stands, they would always give us free stock bones. Then Serena shared her experience, "One time they let me taste different kinds of meat at Stong's and we know the person working there, his name is James".

What shall I buy? 

To help the children have a better image of the open markets I showed the children video clips of open markets in Asia. The children immediately noticed the different stands and how people chatted with the vendors.

 In connection, the children will be going on a field trip to China Town to get a sense of an asian market and the China Town community.