Gift Guide 
First, read the story
Grandma Hen needs one tomato and two avocados at the market, and little Chica-Chick is delighted to help. But when Grandma Hen asks Chica-Chick if she’d like to help cook later, Chica-Chick finds she’d much rather play with friends outdoors!
How to Extend the Activity:
1. Make this fun tale relevant
Ask your preschool child to:
- Name her favorite toys and the children she loves to play with.
- Decide what she’d like to help you cook or bake.
- Select a chore she could do at home, by herself, without being reminded.
2. Develop his powers of observation
Let your sleuth look closely at the pictures and:
- Look for similarities between your house and the house in the story (see page 20)
- Decide what’s different.
- Describe what your favorite food store and Mr. Owl’s little shop have in common.
3. Add a Spanish language challenge
- Review the Spanish words in the story, or listen to an audio recording and repeat the Spanish terms together.
- Say “gracias” instead of “thank you” to show your appreciation all day.
- Learn two new Spanish words or phrases and look up what they mean.
4. Boost memory, reading skills, and comprehension
- Ask: What did Chica-Chick do to help her remember what Grandma Hen wanted her to buy at Mr. Owl’s market?
- See if your child can name the items Chica-Chick was supposed to buy.
- Help her memorize your home address and cell phone number.
- Play memory games with cards or have her study a picture and answer a few simple questions once the picture is taken away.
5. Encourage your child to:
- Pitch in around the house (gather up his laundry, set the table, clear the dishes after meals).
- Help you shop for food and snacks. Introduce him to in-season fruits and veggies, or various types of bread.
- Assist when you cook or bake.
