Scan It

Shopping is a part of life which really necessitates our being mathematically informed to be good consumers.


What you'll need

• Prices

What to do
1. Notice whether the supermarket has prices on the items or whether the pricing is dependent on scanners.
2. If there are no prices on the items, notice the prices listed on the shelves.
3. Assign each child the job of remembering the price of a few items, particularly those listed as being on special offer.
4. Being aware of the prices of items will help you verify that the scanners are working properly and that the total is accurate when you go to the check-out.

The ever-increasing use of technology in the supermarket puts the burden on you to beware. Your protection lies in having strong mental math skills.

Mathland: The Supermarket

The supermarket is one of the best examples of a place where math is real. Since food shopping trips usually affect everyone in the family, the following activities include various levels of difficulty within the activity. All of these activities can take place over many visits to the store.

Get Ready
Getting ready to go shopping can help parents and children share their thinking strategies about math with one another.

What you'll need

• Paper 
• Pencil
• Coupons (if you use them)

What to do


1. Involve the family in making a list. List each item and mark each item to indicate the number required.
2. Look at the price of an item you bought last week and intend to buy this week. How much did it cost last week? How much does it cost this week? Do you want to:

Pay this week's price?

Wait until the price comes down?

Or, stock up if it is reduced?

3. Involve the group in deciding how much milk or juice will be needed for a week. You might decide to estimate by cups. Use a liter drink container to show how many cups it contains.
4. If you collect coupons, organize them. Choose the coupons that match the items on the grocery list. Discuss how much money will be saved on various items by using coupons.

Practicing measurement and estimation will help improve your children's ability to predict amounts with accuracy.

Family Portrait

Have your child get to know members of your family by collecting information and picturing it on a graph.

What you'll need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Crayons

What to do


1. Choose an inherited family characteristic: hair colors, for example.
2. Count how many people in the family have the different hair colors.
3. Make a graph. For example, if 5 people have brown hair, draw 5 heads side by side to show these five people. Do the same for the other hair colors.

Graphs help everyone, including adults, understand information at a glance. By looking at the lengths of the lines of heads, your child can quickly see which hair color, for example, is most common.