Orchard Toys: Shopping List

If you don't have a copy of one of the most popular Orchard Toys games ever made then you need to get it. And soon.

Shopping List is an essential game for children aged 3-7 years because of the way that it takes an everyday situation that children are incredibly familiar with, and provides them with the opportunity to play it at home learning about the different foods available.

The original game (for there are two booster packs) contains:

• four cardboard trolleys;
• four shopping lists with pictures and written names of groceries;
• 32 grocery cards

The basic idea of the game is that each player takes a trolley, chooses a shopping list and then must fill it with the relevant items on their shopping list, taking it in turns to find them from the muddled, upside-down pile in the middle of all the players. If the grocery item card they pick up is one of theirs they can put it in their trolley, if not the must return it to the middle for someone else to take it. Play continues until one person has filled their trolley.

Only because we have a three year old who likes everyone to win (you just either win first, second or third) then we play it that rather than return it to the middle, we give it to whoever has it on their list. And yes, it does work which is the beauty of Orchard Toys games, they are adaptable for the needs of the child.

There are two Booster Sets available:

1. Fruit & Veg
   • Containing two trolleys and shopping lists, there are 16 grocery cards each with an item of fruit or vegetable on it. The fruit and vegetables chosen show a range of everyday foods that the children should be familiar with: pears, potatoes, leeks, melons, cherries, kiwi fruits, asparagus, etc. This is a great opportunity to discuss healthy eating options and where the foods come from or how they grew.
2. Clothes
   • Like the Fruit & Veg pack, this Booster Pack is designed for two players, this time containing 16 clothes cards showing clothes from different seasons like; shorts, vest top, watch, scarf, flip flops, trainers, jumpers, sunglasses, etc. It provides an opportunity to discuss the clothes that are worn at different seasons (or in this country, the same season but different days!)

Whenever we go away for the weekend this is the one Orchard Toys game that comes with us, having carefully selected the lists we The Boy wants to take; the booster packs are interchangeable with the main game. We've had this game for quite some time now (I'm ashamed to admit how long) and it is the single most played game in the house!

Educational guide:

• encourage observational and memory skills
• develop personal and social skills through role-playing and questioning
• language development (modelling questioning and discussion)
• healthy eating – PSHE

Shopping List is priced at £7.50 and each of the Booster Packs are priced at £4.50 each.