PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Samantha Swiderski, 9, and Ryan Gregory, 10, have their groceries scanned at ShopRite of Spotswood Friday when Appleby School students were brought there to shop for a nutritious, balanced three-day menu for a family of four on a budget of $100. The fourthgraders are taking part in the ShopRite Young Consumers Program. SPOTSWOOD — Fourth-grade students at Appleby School are visiting ShopRite of Spotswood twice this month as part of a unique program designed to boost the youngsters' skills in a variety of areas.

The ShopRite Young Consumers Program allows families, schools and the supermarket to partner together to support the academic, social and emotional needs of students, according to Spotswood school officials.

During their visits to the store, students are advised to shop for a nutritious, balanced three-day menu for a family of four with a budget of $100. They must weigh their food, review nutritional guidelines and select the best choices. The children win points for spending close to $100 without going over, and for making nutritional selections.

Vicky Halbert, 10, reads over the students' checklist as Erin Thuring, 10, calculates the total of the groceries they selected. Stacey Bousellam looks over the items in the cart. The children then go back to Appleby School to visit 10 problem-solving stations where they can earn points based on their responses. According to school officials, this experience allows students to use their mathematical knowledge in real-life situations, while giving them the opportunity to plan nutritious meals and make wise consumer decisions.

Howard Herbert, a retired superintendent and current educational consultant with the Wakefern Food Corp., first brought the Young Consumers program to the Spotswood School District last year. The pilot program only included two classes, but was considered so successful that it was expanded to include the entire fourth grade this year.

Appleby School Principal Karen Boyle, who is heavily involved in planning and implementing the trip, is an enthusiastic advocate of the initiative.

"It's really a great program," Boyle said, "and the hands-on experience of planning real meals and shopping is great for the kids."

The program is designed to strengthen students' spatial and logical reasoning skills and teach them to apply those concepts both in the classroom and in real life.

Herbert starts out by introducing a poem to the children, and officials noted that the students remember the poem with no practice. He then introduces mathematical concepts, as well as spatial relationship games such as stacking cups, tangrams and other manipulatives, to develop speed and dexterity. The children work on these games with Herbert and in the classroom throughout the year. The culmination of this part of the program is when the children get to showcase their skills and teach the games to their parents during Family Night.

Finally, the children are asked to use their newly refined abilities during a reallife, food-shopping trip.

ShopRite of Spotswood is a partner in the program, and provides use of the store as well as employees to assist the students. Parent volunteers and school personnel are also available to help the children.