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Ask An Expert: How To Help Kids Learn About Money
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Apr 18, 2017 | Social-Emotional Learning
by Erica Sandberg, Consumer Economics Expert and Author of Expecting Money: the Essential Financial Plan for New and Growing Families
Encouraging kids to learn about money is such a great way to help them build important skills like problem solving, critical thinking, and more.
That’s why I was so excited to host a Facebook Live Dollars & Sense session for Learning Resources. Since I didn’t have time to answer all the wonderful questions during the live session, I wanted to take a moment to address a few of them here. Check them out below…
Q: Should you teach kids about investing too? Or is that subject too complex?
A: Absolutely, and you can do so in a really simple and powerful way. Using the play money, have your child hand you a bill. Explain that the longer you have it, the more he or she will get back in return. You can chat a little about risk (like, “don’t just give it to anyone, you have to be confidant the money holder will give it back”) but that’s advanced material.
Q: My kids think everything is 'free' with a credit card—how can I help them understand the value of the things we buy?
A: Good question! All you have to do is make a short statement when you use the card. “I’m borrowing money from the bank to pay for this and I have to pay them back. If I don’t send everything I spent in 30 days, the bank will add on a fee which means extra money out the door—and I don’t want that!”
Q: When is the best time for savings?
A: The best age is three or four because kids are observing you use money. The best time is when you’re actively making deposits at the real ATM. Then they can do it themselves with the toy ATM. Outside of that, grab a box or piggy bank and throw in money together whenever you have spare change.
Q: Do you think young kids should get an allowance?
A: A ‘real” allowance is best for children who are ten and up. Kids ages 3 to 7 are still in the counting and early concept stage. They need to be taught what money is and how it can best be used. A little practice paying for things is smart, though.
Talk about what you’re doing with money in positive ways. “I’m going to work because I like it and the company pays me for what I do. With what I earn, I pay for all kinds of fun and important things!” It’s a great set up.Then act it out when you’re with your child. Enjoy yourselves. Laugh. Kids love absurdity. Say, “I’m selling this broccoli for a million dollars,” and ask if that makes sense. You will be teaching so many important money skills just by communicating and playing. Have fun with it!
Did you like this post? Let us know at blog@learningresources.com, and don’t forget to check out Erica’s recent post: Dollars and Sense! Teaching Kids Skills That Pay The Bills.
Learning is Where We Play:
Making Financial Literacy Fun at Home!
Money Recognition
The road to financial literacy begins with the basics: money recognition! For this lesson, gather as many different examples of your chosen currency as you can find around the house, and set it out on the table. With your kids, identify each coin and bill by name, as well as monetary value. If you're in the mood for history, you can even explain the stories behind the people and landmarks that appear on your money!Counting With Cash
Once you've introduced all of your coins and bills, it's time to start counting with cash! To start, have your kids count up to 100 using only one kind of coin, then repeat with the others. Keep each set of stacks, then compare them at the end to explain the value relationships between each coin. For an added greater-than/less-than challenge, make two random piles of coins, and have your kids figure out which one has the higher value. This activity works best with lots of coins; if you don't have real coins around the house, play money is a fine substitute.Set Up Shop
This one's a great imaginative activity for older kids. Have your kids select some toys or other household objects as stock for their pretend shop. Once they've selected their stock, have them set prices for each item. Then, playing the part of the customer, make a few different purchases totaling different amounts of money, and have your kids make change for your payments. If you have the Calculator Cash Register, this is a great opportunity to see it in action!
International Adventure
Financial literacy is important all over the world. For a fun introduction to other cultures, explore the money of another country with your kids. Whether you're looking at actual leftover currency from an international vacation or just an online article with plenty of pictures, use this time to talk about how money is similar and different in other parts of the world. If you've got older kids, you could even introduce the concepts of relative value and exchange rates! How much would their allowance be worth in British pounds? How about Japanese yen?
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Gameschooling 101!
Has your child ever pushed back when it comes to school or homework? My oldest daughter has always been a “workbook kid”. She absolutely loved worksheets and printables. We definitely do a ton of hands-on projects, but when it came to core subjects, like math and reading, she was completely content working in a book…until a few months ago. A daily battle began. She no longer wanted to sit at the table and breeze through concepts on paper. I gave her a few days off, but her resistance continued. I decided that I needed to reach her another way, so I decided to start Gameschooling.
Gameschooling is where you basically teach your child through playing games. What I love about homeschooling is that I can change our curriculum whenever necessary to meet the needs of my children! I sat down and made a list of topics that were age and skill-appropriate for my daughters, and then set out to find games that covered those subjects.
At their ages, a heavy focus is placed on numbers, counting, addition/subtraction, telling time, handling money, letter sounds, sight words and reading. Today I’m going to share a few of our favorite games that teach these concepts!
Sum Swamp™ Addition & Subtraction Game
Sum Swamp was one of the first math games I found that was appropriate and fun for both of my daughters (aged 4 & 6). Many games were either too advanced for my 4-year-old or too easy (and “boring”) for my 6-year-old. I was having a hard time finding something they could play together.
This game is fun, engaging, and competitive - even adults will enjoy it. It easily teaches addition and subtraction, which is something my 4-year-old had never been exposed to prior to this game. You can play a round in 10-15 minutes and there isn’t any complicated setup.
I Sea 10™ Math Game
I Sea 10! is another quick game we like to use to practice addition. The point of the game is to spot numbers that add up to 10. It can be 2 or more number groups and you race to make a number combination first. When you spot a combination, yell out I Sea 10! and the winner keeps the tiles. Watch out for sharks! If you flip one over, they will take your collected tiles along with them back into the box.
Money Bags™ Coin Value Game
We love Money Bags for practicing money concepts. It is a little more advanced because you have to add up the coins to make the correct money amount, so I will team up with my 4-year-old to play against my 6-year-old. I love how realistic the money is and it’s one of the only games I could find to teach this topic. It’s a really fun way to practice math and making change!
POP for Sight Words™ Game
I
really love the “POP” game line and was excited to grab POP for Sight Words. Let’s be honest, sight word practice can be really boring. The problem is, you can’t just skip it if you don’t feel like doing it. Sight words are necessary for reading. I play this game with my 6-year-old and it has made this subject a lot more enjoyable.
You pull popcorn out of the box and race to read the sight word. Obviously, a parent would win, so I give her about 5 seconds to “beat me” otherwise I answer. You try to collect the most popcorn. If you pick a card with POP! on it, you have to put all your popcorn back in the box. We also let her try to race through the popcorn on her own, making a pile that she knows and a pile that she doesn’t.
Snap It Up!® Phonics & Reading Game
Another game that we love playing together is Snap It Up! To make it easier for my 4-year-old, I read out the ending sound for the word family and we race to see if we have a card that would make a real word. The winner takes the card and a new word family card is displayed. The racing element and competition turn another mundane subject into a really fun game.
Even though we homeschool, Gameschooling can be used with any child or family! It’s a great way to practice subjects from school or work on areas your child might be struggling to grasp. This has been a wonderful teaching option for our family, and it’s so successful that we’ve completely ditched workbooks for the remainder of this year. I highly recommend trying out this method of learning with your little ones.
Save it for later!
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