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Week 6- February 16, 2017
Last Thursday’s lesson focused on working with the Warriors to identify the differences between the details of food items. For instance, the skill of identifying and differentiating the different types of cheese, swiss versus provolone cheese. Other details included identifying the different kinds of dressings, wheat vs. white bread, reduced fat vs. regular fat, greek yogurt vs. regular and other flavored yogurts. Lessons also worked on identifying the different sizes of items that you might purchase at the store.
Week 5- February 9, 2017
Warriors split up into their assigned groups. One group spent time making their shopping lists while the other groups worked on placing food items into the correct storage area.
The shopping list group asked Warriors to create their shopping lists by selecting the items they would like to be responsible for locating and purchasing at Jewel by writing those items on their lists. Then they were asked to go to the Smartboard and circle the aisle on the map that had their food item. Warriors added the aisle number next to their food items on their lists.
The other groups worked on locating where the food items should be placed once they returned back from Jewel. They practiced this skill in two different ways. One group of Warriors were given actual food items and were asked to put them away in the kitchen cabinets or refrigerator. OT’s observed them through this process and intervened when a Warrior appeared to be struggling with this task or asked for help. The second group did the same exact activity but by using pictures versus the actual items, kind of like a picture matching game. Warriors were given printed out pictures of food items and then were asked to place those food items on the correct storage area picture.
Once the morning activities were complete the group of Warriors and OT’s went to purchase the items at Jewel.
Since we began this activity five weeks ago, I have seen improvements in the Warriors confidence level during both small group activities and while at the grocery store! The more the Warriors practice the different skills the better they more confident they become in performing the tasks as independently as possible. This makes sense of course! Also, I have received verbal feedback from the therapists reiterating my own observations. It appears that the most challenging portion of this workshop for most Warriors is when it comes to money. For instance, it is challenging for most Warriors to select the lower priced item when they are given several of the same items at the same time.
Week 4 Update-February 2, 2017
The plan for this week includes discussing the different steps involved with the task of grocery shopping. OT’s will break down each task that makes up the overall task of grocery shopping, such as, taking your list to the store, getting a shopping cart, finding the item at the store, putting the item in the cart, checking out and paying for the item, and putting the item away when back at the Life Shop. Then they will discuss greater or less than, how much money does the item cost, how much money does the Warrior have, and how much money should you give to cover that amount when at the store. With the help of the currency time -line each Warrior will practice through a role-playing the cost of an item and how much you should pay for that item.
Week 3 Update- January 26, 2017
Last week’s workshop continued to work with the Warriors to create a shopping list based on the food items the Life Shop had and the food items the recipe called for and needed to be purchased. Warriors and OT’s divided up into their assigned small group and practiced these skills. Newly introduced this week, the OT instructors began to shift focus on the activity to discuss the cost of each item. To do this the OT’s had special handouts that placed currency denominations in sequential order on a number line. Then the OT’s taught Warriors how to use the money line and worked with them to identify the cost of the food as it would fit in on the money line. Then at the grocery store, each Warrior was responsible for finding the items on their list and then paying for the items using cash.
Week 2 Update- January 19, 2017
Week 2 of the grocery shopping skills workshop was excellent! The OT’s designed Thursday’s activity to take place in four small groups. Each group went through two different activities where they were asked to create a shopping list by identifying the food items we had and the food items they needed to purchase. Each group went to the local Jewel and found the food items on their list and purchased their items using cash. OT’s were creative in all activities and used pictures, Smartboard, and handouts to help teach the topic. Life Coaches split up into each group and assisted the Warriors.
Week 1 Update- January 12, 2017
Starting this week, Thursday mornings are dedicated to our continued partnership with Occupational Therapy students of Midwestern University. For the next eight weeks, OT students will conduct a two- hour workshop that will cover important skills in preparing, organizing, and budgeting a grocery shopping list. Each lesson will begin with a classroom based activity and continue the day with applied learning at the grocery store.
This week the workshop began with a quick lesson and visual map game on how the local Jewel is organized. Then the Warriors practiced finding the foods in the aisle on the map. At the grocery store Warriors were asked to find the items on the list with a focus on selecting the lowest priced item. The last part of the experience required Warriors to check-out and pay for the items with a bank of cash distributed to them. Each Warrior was asked to do their best and give the cashier the correct amount of bills.
Overall, the Warriors did great and were very patient and flexible with this new experience. I look forward to next week!
