She placed her hand in mine and we walked side-by-side. She looked up at me and chattered about the things that mean the most to her… her grandparents, her sister, the lake and her Webkinz pets. Occasionally her rambling sentiments would be interrupted by a bird she sees, a bus or a plane in the sky.

We’re going to the market. Daddy is at home with her sister… it’s just the two of us. She mischievously conveys that she really doesn’t know what balloon animal she’ll ask for this time. Ugh… I really dislike waiting in the long line for a balloon animal that often pops within minutes of receiving it.

“The balloon animal lady may not be there.” I tell her.

She looks disappointed.

We arrive at the market and she excitedly drags me from table to table. She tries to convince me that I need a new wallet, that I need a framed picture and that I should buy some cheese (even though she’s allergic and won’t have any… “because if you were allergic to something that I liked it would be okay for me to still have it right?”). My child astounds me with the things she says sometimes. We bump into some friends. She acts shy but the minute we go our separate ways she can’t stop talking about her “best friend in the whole world”.

We stop at a fruit vendor. I tell her that she can choose whatever fruit she likes. She decides on a container of plums for $4.00. I give her a $5.00 bill and encourage her to work through the math while the vendor returns with the change.

“$1.00!” she declares. The vendor is charmed and gives her an apricot for free. She’s stunned and really doesn’t understand why he gave her a free apricot and said she was sweet. She says thank you and we move along.

Two bracelets from the bracelet lady, some more math…. a pack of beef jerky, some cherry tomatoes and a bag of kettle corn. We watch the man who makes the kettle corn and she laughs and giggles as the kettle full of fresh popcorn gets tipped into another gigantic pot.

She pulls me through the crowds and spots a table of honey. She’s eyeing the honey sticks… I show her the sign and encourage her to read it… 3 for $1. She wants 4 instead of 3 (because she’s 4-years-old) but I tell her only 3 while reminding her of all the other things that we already bought. She selects 3 of the same flavour and the lady tells her it’s $1.00. I hold out a hand full of change and tell her to select the dollar to give to the lady. She swiftly whips up the one dollar coin and says, “Here’s a loonie!”

We walk home, hand-in-hand and we gather at the kitchen table to savour our treats.

Enjoying a honey stick

I was delighted that such a simple outing turned into a wonderful learning opportunity. Numeracy, early literacy, citizenship and community awareness… these are all objectives my daughter will be working towards when she starts her homeschooling program next month! In addition, we had a lovely time at the market… it was a beautiful day and a wonderful moment shared between the two of us. We purchased some delicious treats and guess what… the balloon lady wasn’t even there! Now THAT is kind of magical.

A special thank you to Sofia from Sofia’s Ideas for the opportunity to participate in this blog posting link-up.

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.