Besides Playing Office, playing Store was my favorite game as a kid.
In general, I liked to handle money, make kid-formatted by-hand spreadsheets, and fill out paperwork.
(Still do.)
I don’t know why I haven’t thought of introducing Ali to the game, but the other day, she suggested it to me.
My heart swelled with bursting joy and pride.
We played a short game, but then had to leave or eat or sleep or some other less important activity.
So yesterday, we embarked on a much more in-depth game of store, and I realized that besides the obvious benefits of counting, there are a LOT of learning opportunities in this most excellent, albeit a bit geeky, game.
1. It buys you time. What I was really trying to do yesterday was to have some one-on-one time with Noah and his board books. But Ali was jealous and was doing everything she could to get mine or Noah’s attention. So I told her that she and I were going to play store next.
But first, she needed to set up shop.
I rented her the coffee table for a storefront, then handed her a pad of post-it notes and a pen and told her to select items for sale, and then put price tags on every single one of them.
… and Noah and I were able to work on animal sounds and colors, uninterrupted, for the next ten minutes.
2. It’s good practice for writing numbers. Ali is a great letter writer, but has always struggled with numbers. And she’s not a big fan of practicing for practice’s sake.
Pricing merch, however, is a perfectly exciting way to work on that particular skill.
3. It teaches the concept of assigning value.
Tennis ball? $100. Book? $60. Random piece of Cardboard? $5.
Little brother?
$3.
4. It teaches creativity and marketing. I told her to choose a name for her store and to create signage.
“Bi It Store”
She also informed me, “I’m talking in this different voice because I’m trying to sound like a shopkeeper.”
5. It reinforces currency and how to use it. Ali is a bit rusty on coins and dollars and how they all relate, so this really helped solidify the uses of them in her mind.
6. It’s great practice for making change without letting your kid onto the fact that they’re learning something useful.
Ali gets subtraction, but “making change” was a completely new idea – one that took a lot of brainpower.
…especially when interrupted by the merchandise.
Repeatedly.
(He might have gotten thrown in the clearance bin after that.)
7. It teaches bargaining. I didn’t want to pay $100 for a Tennis Ball.
“That’s just too high. And I don’t have that much money. Would you take $60 for it?”
“hmm… nope, it’s $100.”
8. It teaches good stewardship.
“Well, I don’t have that much money, so I can’t buy your tennis ball today.”
“Oh…yeah, I guess you can’t.”
9. It teaches the concept of patience in spending.
“But I really WANT you to buy the tennis ball, Momma!”
“Well, do you know if the Tennis Ball will be going on sale anytime soon? I just can’t afford $100.”
“Actually, I think it will be. Let me mark it down…”
“Yup – now it’s $1.”
10. It’s like an endless supply of three-dimensional math word problems.
“I want to buy this Jungle Speed stick and this bowl. How much will my total be?”
“Um…. they’re $4 and $2.”
“Right. So how much do I owe you all together?”
“Ooooh…. That will be $6.”
11. It teaches sales techniques and how to explain value.
“Mom! I really want you to buy this piece of cardboard!”
“But it’s $5!! Why is that piece of cardboard worth five whole dollars?!?”
“Because… because… because it’s such a BIG piece of cardboard!!”
12. It brings a whole new understanding to store-owner frustration at kids destroying their stores.
I hope she remembers that lesson next time she’s screaming like a loosed zoo animal in a tiny, quiet boutique.
And finally,
13. You get a Shopping High without spending a single (real) dollar.
And nothing can really beat that.
Love it! Especially the interrupting merchandise… :)
Thanks! I especially love that piece of interrupting merchandise as well. It’s a very endearing piece of merch…
Great idea! I want to do this today! What did you use for currency? Did you have play money or did you make it?
Yup, we have play money. But making your own could buy you even MORE time!!!
I love the real life merchandise! I lol’d through the whole thing. I bought a Melissa and Doug set of play money forever ago and have considered selling it because I’ve never used it. This is the perfect idea!
Ha! I love that she put a price on her brother. ; ) I think that playing store is such a worthwhile, fun, educational game for kids. My son and his friends sometimes try to play store with their toys for real, which can cause problems because they don’t yet undertand the value of certain things, or the idea that selling something means it now belongs to someone else forever. The neighborhood parents have had to put a stop to that kind of “store”.
Oh yes, I can see how that would complicate things…
Back when they were cute, MaryKate and Ashley Olsen had a song “Brother for sale, only 50 cents!”. Noah must be a great brother to allow for such inflation rates!
I suppose so!! He’ll be proud to hear that he actually costs a lot.
Great idea! Are you raising another little accountant? :)
She’s so much like me it’s scary. I think it’s pretty inevitable.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED playing store, grocery store, clothing store, trash store<– ALWAYS fun, any kind of store (and office…and house…and school…etc) as a kid!! I think that's how I managed to become good in math.
HA! you are a genius. so much so, that my laughing has distracted my son from doing his handwriting and wants to know what that little girl and boy are doing. i explained what you were doing and hopefully he will request to do it on his own and then i don’t have to do very much work either :D oh, and the $3 brother killed me. even noah laughed at that, and that kid doesn’t have the quickest wit :)
I loved playing store! We also played library and shot the books out of a trundle bed opened halfway up pretending it was some motorized book dispensary. Every book had a check out card and was stamped with my beloved date stamp. Good times.
Wow this made me remember being about 4 years old & my dad made me a timber storefront in one of his “building phases”, I had chocolate coins (the ones covered in gold paper) it was so much fun, I’m sure I drove everyone in the house crazy but I felt so grownup, looking back who would have guessed it was educational :-)
Yum!! I used to love those chocolate coins. My store would have gone out of business very quickly due to lack of funds!!
LOVE! Excellent ideas. So glad there are other moms who work hard to teach their kids. Thanks Rachel.
Excellent idea!! and 3$ brother,, hahah loved that.. are all big sisters like that?? and merchandise disturbance was too cute!! haha!!
I will probably have to wait a few years before I can play it with my kid.. he will probably eat up both the money and merchandise right now.. maybe 2-3 years later :)
Yep – mine is 5 1/2 and she’s just barely old enough to get full value out of it.
I loved playing “store” as a kid. I also created a fast food drive-thru menu with prices and taped it up inside a cabinet door – just in case I had any hungry customers. I always enjoyed math but probably didn’t realize that I was playing with it!
I didn’t either!! It was all a trick!!
ok, so the photo of a disgusted shop keeper with the merch playing on the shelf in hysterical. i love her expression! priceless.
AWESOME! Such a great idea. I gotta say, that must have been one heck of a special tennis ball, but the fact that you got it 99% off is even better!!
Thanks for the reminder! I have been growing tired of our little indoor playhouse “cafe” run by puppets. We have been shopkeepers this afternoon and counting money rather than eating plastic fruits and chips has been a welcome change. :}
Excellent!! I’m glad to have relieved you from Puppetry Cafe!