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Week 10 · Lists and Errands

Monday

A list remembers for you
// A list remembers so you can help
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: A list remembers for you

Chris the Coyote trots up to the den. "Riley the Raccoon has a job this week, and he is already muttering."

Riley paces. "Apples, soap, rice, and... and something else. I know there was something else!"

Ferris the Fox hands him a pencil. "Your head is full. Give the job to paper."

Riley writes four words. He grins. "Paper does not forget. This is my job: the store list."

Ferris writes a list at the table. A travel bag sits open beside him under a map.

Why write it down?

A list is memory on paper. Your head can hold a few things at once. A list can hold as many as you need.

Riley forgot the fourth thing because he was trying to remember all of them. A list lets your head rest.

A good store list has two secrets. It is written before you leave. It is grouped by where things live in the store.

Group by aisle

A store keeps the same kinds of things together in one row. That row is called an aisle.

If your list is grouped by aisle, you walk the store once. No running back for the thing you missed.

Aisle groupThings that live there
Fruit and vegetablesapples, carrots, bananas, lettuce
Bread and grainsbread, rice, oats, crackers
Cans and boxesbeans, soup, cereal, pasta
Cold thingsjuice, frozen peas, frozen fruit
Home thingssoap, paper towels, sponges, trash bags
WHICH AISLE GROUP?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where does a bag of rice belong on the list?
Where does a bar of soap belong?
Where do frozen peas belong?

How Riley makes his list

  1. Ask your grown-up what the family needs this week.
  2. Walk through the kitchen and pantry and notice what is low or empty.
  3. Write each thing down right away, before you forget.
  4. Group the items by aisle: fruit and vegetables, grains, cans, cold, home.
  5. Read the list back to your grown-up and add anything missing.
PUT THE LIST-MAKING STEPS IN ORDER.
  • ?Notice what is low or empty
  • ?Group the items by aisle
  • ?Read the list back to your grown-up
  • ?Ask your grown-up what the family needs
  • ?Write each thing down
WHY THIS EXERCISEAsk, notice and write come first. Grouping and checking make the list easy to use.
What is a list, in two words from today? Memory on what?
What do we call one long row of one kind of thing in a store?
Should you write the list before you leave or at the store?
StatementTrue or false?
A list is memory on paper.?
A good list puts things in any order at all.?
Grouping by aisle means walking the store once.?
You should read the list back to your grown-up.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe order of a list matters. A grouped list is a map of the store.
How many things was Riley holding in his head before he wrote them down?
WHY THIS EXERCISEEven four things can slip away. Paper holds them for you.
Try it
With your grown-up, look in the kitchen and pantry for three things that are low.
Write them on a list.
Beside each one, write its aisle group.
Safety first
Ask before you open any cabinet or drawer.
No climbing on counters or chairs to see high shelves. Ask your grown-up to look.

Nice work, Helper! You turned a worry into a list. Tomorrow Riley packs a bag with a checklist.