Grocery shopping never looked this cute!
Kids can up their “pretend store” play with this fabulous Count-Along Basket & Scanner from LeapFrog. There are two ways for kiddos to carry the shopping basket — they can either carry it like a basket if they’re just picking up a few things or expand it into a rolling shopping cart. The set also comes with eight play foods in a rainbow of colors, from a pink cake and a blue fish to a yellow cheese slice and green broccoli.
But of course, this basket isn’t just about pretend play — it’s also packed with interactive value. With the included scanner, kids can scan foods on the shopping lists to play activities like Food Group Feast and Shapes of the Day, and also hear encouraging phrases and songs.
And, since it’s LeapFrog, there’s plenty of educational value mixed in that parents will love. Designed for kids ages 2 and up, the basket features three interactive play modes that reinforce learning. In Learn Mode, kids can scan a food to find out its name, color, and the number printed on it. Scan those grapes to hear “grapes,” “purple,” and “10.” Kids can switch to Count mode to follow the scanner’s directions to scan foods up to 10 times. And if they’re ready for a game, they can switch to Game mode, in which the scanner gives clues for foods by name, number, color, and shape, and kids have to find the food that matches and scan it.
I should clarify that the scanner does not literally “scan.” Kids must insert the square shape into the scanner’s face in order for it to recognize the piece. But all of the food pieces and the scanner are big, chunky, and easy for little hands to use, so they’ll have no problem playing independently.
When playtime is over, cleaning up is easier than putting away your groceries because all of the pieces store inside the basket, and the scanner clips onto the side. Everything is ready to go the next time kids pull it out to play!
