Our shopping list

From the house

• Paper
• A pencil or crayons
• Your fridge and cupboard

How to play

1. Ask them to help write the list for the next shop, and look in the fridge and cupboard together.
2. For each thing you need, they write it or draw it, whichever they can.
3. Help them sound out one word slowly, “m-i-l-k”, and praise whatever letters they hear, even if it’s not spelled right.
4. Read the list back together, pointing to each item, and stick it on the fridge.

Fit it to your child

• Easier: They draw each item and you write the word beside it, saying its first sound as you write.
• Harder: They write every word by sounding it out and add how many you need, like “2 apples”.

Words to use

• list
• write
• sound it out
• first letter
• read it back

Why it helps

Writing for a real job shows them that marks on paper carry a message, and sounding out words links letters to the sounds they hear.