Flush with cash, excitement and a staple heavy shopping list: Aaron, Tanner, Zoe and crew are on a mission. The preschoolers at Primrose School of N.E. Green Oaks are working to stock the shelves at Mission Metroplex/Mission Arlington.

The students, 15 of them, made the north Arlington Kroger feel as fun as a pizza party.

Five-year-old Zoe said that she enjoyed adding "frosting and cake" to the cart, but the sweetest part is how the effort began: as most good things do, with hard work.  

The preschoolers have been doing extra chores at home to earn money to help buy food for needy families.

And they're working hard.  Aaron, 5,  said he put away "54" clothes, and Tanner earned what sounded like a mix of $6,000 and $109.  But even if the math doesn't match, it all adds up.

"Primrose school really believes that who children become is just as important as what they know," said owner Lynne Groff, LMSW.  "And so teaching them to be stewards of their community, to be generous, to give back to their community is a valuable lesson."

Groff acknowledged that it would have been easier perhaps to just donate the cash that the students earned with extra chores and the money that parents chipped in.  But they opted to give the children a hands-on lesson in compassion.

"Without the `seeing' they don't comprehend," explains Groff.  "So, they have to start with doing the chores. And they have to help count the money. And then when we come, we make grocery lists. They decorate the carts and then they come and they know exactly what we need to buy.  And then we bring the long ticket out and take a picture with the ticket so they can see from beginning to end all their hard work."

While it might be easier to hand over the cash, Groff knows that hearts wouldn't be as full, including her own.

"It's just... I can't even put it into words. It's such a blessing," Groff said, her eyes starting to sparkle at the memories.  "I'm grateful enough that I have owned my school for 30 years.  And I have kids that are now adults that come back and tell me how fun it was."

The massive grocery run aimed to spend all of the $2400 collected this year.  Over the decades, Groff said the students and their parents have purchased some $80,000 in groceries to donate.

"And," adds Groff, "it just really is a great way to start the giving season."