Friday, October 10, 2008

Home Economics ~ Home School Style

Before you read any further, NO I do not home school my boys. A. I am not that creative and B. I am not that patient.

I cringe when I see another teacher work day (= no school) on the calendar.

Today we REALLY NEEDED to go to the grocery store. Hayden still had preschool, so it was just Carter (10), Griffin (7) and myself. I did not want to be sucked into buying every little thing they picked out. I would have chosen to go without them, but we really needed to shop today.

I wanted to spend no more than $50. Truly, I didn't think this was possible.

I armed Carter with a calculator, the boys brought their $5 from Grandma Judy and Grandpa Jim (Thanks guys!!) and we headed to King Soopers.

The boys compared prices, picked apples that were on sale, weighed the produce, entered the amount on the calculator. Aisle after aisle of reading the price per pound/ounce section of the tags. Picking store brand over Jif peanut butter (I am a choosy mom but really, I am on a budget). Seeing lots items we will think about for next time. Saying, "Oh, I wish that was one sale."

We got 7 bags of food; lots of apples, bananas, soups, cheeses, meat, etc.

Our total would have been $55, but I had pharmacy rewards (we had filled a prescription earlier in the month and got a $20 reward!) so our total was $35.

But that isn't even the best part. The boys worked together, made informed choices, worked within a budget, and got a better understanding of the value of money. AND THEY DIDN'T FIGHT! It was a wonderful morning.

And they go back to school on Monday!

7 comments:

Danielle (Life with the Hewitt Family) said...

Great way to keep the boys occupied...and they made good choices! Sounds like a successful grocery trip to me!

Miss Lisa said...

$55 for all that and then down to $35--please share your secrets :) (I am lucky if I am ever under a hundred!)

Anonymous said...

No way! You had to have made that up! ;)

Congrats to all on a job well done!

Unknown said...

Wow, that's the best grocery store trip I've heard about in a while!

I tend to dread going these days!

Laural Out Loud said...

It was the calculator. Give a boy an electronic toy, and he's happy for hours. Awesome!

Tammy said...

What a wonderful grocery shopping trip. I guess they were to busy learning to fight and didn't even know it.

4funboys said...

can they come shop for me???