As a mom of three, it seems my to-do list keeps growing, and the time I have to get it done keeps shrinking. I sometimes worry that the one shortchanged while I scramble around is my youngest, Allison, who's now a little over a year old. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't pulled out even half of the toys I spent hours entertaining her siblings with, nor have I signed her up for a library storytime or Gymboree class. Instead, most of her days over the past year have been spent trailing me in the kitchen as I get meals together for everyone or riding in the back of our SUV to her sister's preschool or brother's soccer games.

What keeps me from feeling too guilty is that her pediatrician assures me she's developing quite well. It seems that our family's everyday life has provided Allison a great education so far. "Babies don't need expensive toys or advanced classes to learn about the world," says Debbie Glasser, Ph.D., a psychologist in Weston, Florida, and founder of NewsForParents.org. "Parents are their first and most influential teachers  -- and a baby's classroom is wherever he goes."

In fact, Glasser told me, even something as mundane as a trip to the grocery store is full of learning opportunities for babies. How could this be? Isn't the supermarket a place most moms, like me, wish they didn't have to drag their baby to? I put a recent morning shopping trip  -- just like the ones Allison and I have been going on for months  -- to the test. It turned out that our ordinary activities made great lessons:

8:00 a.m.
Lesson plan: Get dressed
Allison watches from her playpen while I shower, dress, and blow-dry my hair for our grocery-store excursion. I try to hurry, thinking that this can't be too exciting for her. As it turns out, she's getting an action-packed demonstration on how to perform vital life skills. Experts say that babies learn by observing, so as she watches me, she's taking mental notes that a toothbrush goes in the mouth and that pants go on legs. The proof: Allison is pulling off her sock and trying to wriggle her toes back into it again. "You almost got it!" I tell her. She's so engrossed that I actually get an extra minute to swipe on a little mascara. More important, Glasser says, Allison gets time to practice her fledgling independence skills and gain self-confidence as I cheer her on from the sidelines.

Hollace Schmidt is a former newspaper reporter who lives in Bainbridge, Ohio.

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