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In 2020, America will be counted in the US Census. The U.S. Census Bureau collects and organizes a wide variety of population data and other types of information for the nation, states, and counties. Governments, businesses, and school districts use this information to make decisions that affect everyone. Did you know that many of these facts are available om their website? Here are some activities that can be done at different grade levels with the information about your neighborhood and the nation:
Pre-School
Transportation is a fun and common theme in early-preschool classrooms. Discuss how you and the people in your community get to work, school, or the grocery store, or go to visit people in another state. Do they walk, drive or use public transportation? You can see how your answers compare to the transportation data from your state and other states.
Use the census data on popular jobs in your area to discuss what your child would like to be when they grow up. Use your creative side to draw out what you think you would look like doing that job!
Kindergarten
Put yourself in the shoes of a U.S. Census Bureau agent. Pick things in the house or classroom that you want to count. Write down your final data and explore the concepts of greater than or less than. You can also introduce addition and subtraction.
1st Grade
The 2020 Census is in full swing. Students and their families can join in from home by using the response rate map to explore how many people are responding to the 2020 Census in their community. The map is updated daily.
2nd Grade
Learn how to understand data from the U.S. Census Bureau that show the number of bedrooms in people’s homes all around the United States. Use this data to create your dream home! How many bedrooms and bathrooms will it have? What will it look like? Who will live there with you? For an added activity, draw or construct your house.
3rd Grade
How does the population of your state compare with the population of another state? Look at data from different states and create bar graphs to make comparisons.
Create a geography scavenger hunt! Pick out a location, and give students a series of clues about landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts to answer questions that lead them to the place!
4th Grade
A good way to compare and contrast data is to place those data on a graph. Use 2018 data from State Facts for Students to make a line graph comparing the estimated numbers of births in two U.S. states over four years.
Analyze and compare census data on the earnings of people with different college majors. You can also create word problems and draw conclusions about the data. How does your dream job compare with that of your friends?
Get your children involved in filling out the census for your household! Visit https://my2020census.gov/ to make sure your family is counted. It takes just minutes to complete and the U.S. Census Bureau keeps all your information confidential.
In 2020, America will be counted in the US Census. The U.S. Census Bureau collects and organizes a wide variety of population data and other types of information for the nation, states, and counties. Governments, businesses, and school districts use this information to make decisions that affect everyone. Did you know that many of these facts are available om their website? Here are some activities that can be done at different grade levels with the information about your neighborhood and the nation:
Pre-School
Transportation is a fun and common theme in early-preschool classrooms. Discuss how you and the people in your community get to work, school, or the grocery store, or go to visit people in another state. Do they walk, drive or use public transportation? You can see how your answers compare to the transportation data from your state and other states.
Use the census data on popular jobs in your area to discuss what your child would like to be when they grow up. Use your creative side to draw out what you think you would look like doing that job!
Kindergarten
Put yourself in the shoes of a U.S. Census Bureau agent. Pick things in the house or classroom that you want to count. Write down your final data and explore the concepts of greater than or less than. You can also introduce addition and subtraction.
1st Grade
The 2020 Census is in full swing. Students and their families can join in from home by using the response rate map to explore how many people are responding to the 2020 Census in their community. The map is updated daily.
2nd Grade
Learn how to understand data from the U.S. Census Bureau that show the number of bedrooms in people’s homes all around the United States. Use this data to create your dream home! How many bedrooms and bathrooms will it have? What will it look like? Who will live there with you? For an added activity, draw or construct your house.
3rd Grade
How does the population of your state compare with the population of another state? Look at data from different states and create bar graphs to make comparisons.
Create a geography scavenger hunt! Pick out a location, and give students a series of clues about landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts to answer questions that lead them to the place!
4th Grade
A good way to compare and contrast data is to place those data on a graph. Use 2018 data from State Facts for Students to make a line graph comparing the estimated numbers of births in two U.S. states over four years.
Analyze and compare census data on the earnings of people with different college majors. You can also create word problems and draw conclusions about the data. How does your dream job compare with that of your friends?
Get your children involved in filling out the census for your household! Visit https://my2020census.gov/ to make sure your family is counted. It takes just minutes to complete and the U.S. Census Bureau keeps all your information confidential.
April is Financial Literacy Month, so it's the perfect time to help your kids build solid foundations on money matters! As you plan your at-home learning lessons for the month, try incorporating some of the following activities that use dollars and cents to introduce math skills, history facts, and more!
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?
At Learning Resources, we’re here to help you make the best of this challenging time. Stay safe and healthy, and check back with our blog for more tips and learning ideas as the situation unfolds.
April is Financial Literacy Month, so it's the perfect time to help your kids build solid foundations on money matters! As you plan your at-home learning lessons for the month, try incorporating some of the following activities that use dollars and cents to introduce math skills, history facts, and more!
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?
At Learning Resources, we’re here to help you make the best of this challenging time. Stay safe and healthy, and check back with our blog for more tips and learning ideas as the situation unfolds.
It’s the 25th anniversary of our best-selling Cash Register and we’re celebrating with 10 great games to play with pretend money, from coin counting and matching to making and tallying coin-a-pillars, Easter egg money counts, and more!
Sort It Out
This one’s for the littlest learners! Jumble up the coins and bills from the Cash Register and challenge your little ones to sort them out into the divided compartments in the Register. Point out that the different types of coins are different shapes and colors and that the bills have different numbers on them. Tell your child the value and name of each coin and bill as they put them away.
Penny Pitch
This fast-action learning game combines physical and mental fun! Give each child a handful of random play coins and a large plastic bowl. Place the bowls on the ground with the kids standing behind them and have each child take 5 big steps backward. Then ready, set, toss! Tossing one coin at a time, see how many each child can get into their bowl. Then challenge them to count the value of the coins inside.
Find It Fun
Hide your play coins and bills around the house (remember to track how many you’ve hidden!), then let your little ones loose. When you think all the coins have been found, have each child count the value of their stash. The seeker who found the most money wins!
Buy It Back
Using printer labels or tie-on tags, gather a few of your child’s toys, and put a price on them (round numbers are easier for little kids, dollars and cents work well for older kids). Give each child a bank of dollars and coins and have them “pay” you for the toys they want. Older elementary-school-aged kids can play cashier while YOU buy with bills, making your change from the register.
Slime Time
Turn money math into a sensory experience by placing your play coins in a batch of slime or a bin of Playfoam Pluffle™. Sneak in some fine motor skill practice by having your kids extract the coins using play tweezers – and total them up.
Money Match
Turning a sheet of printer paper sideways, draw a bunch of balloons tied with a string and let your little ones color them in. Then use a marker to write a random amount of dollars and cents on each balloon. Open your register and see if your child can remove the correct amount and place it on the matching balloon. Hint – keep your totals low so your kids can complete all the balloons without having to restock the register.
Money Bunny
Put those empty plastic Easter eggs to use! Fill each egg with a tiny surprise – a bit of chocolate, piece of chewing gum, etc. – then use a Sharpie to write a price on the outside of the egg. If your child can give you the correct amount of money, they win the prize inside!
Bingo Bucks
Practice matching and coin value by creating your own Bingo cards! Start by dividing a sheet of paper (card stock works well) into nine boxes. Write a coin value (1, 5, 10, or 25) in each, then give each child a handful of play coins. Reaching into your own pile, pull out a coin and call out its value. If the player has a matching coin and an open space with that value on their card, they place it there. The first player to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins the game!
Coin-a-Pillars
Turning a sheet of printer paper sideways, have your kids draw a caterpillar head (don’t forget the antennae) at one end, five or six empty circles with lines beneath each, a few fuzzy feet, and a line at the end. Color them in if you like. Then, with their eyes closed, have them pick five or six play coins out of a bowl and place them in their caterpillar’s circles. Using a pencil, have them write the value of each coin beneath it and total up the value on the line at the end. Remove the coins, erase the numbers, and begin again!
Slap Stack
Give each child a stack of random play bills and call out a number. The first player to find the bills that add up to that number and slap them down on the table wins the round. The first player to win five rounds wins the game! Start with simple numbers like $1 or $6 and work your way up to tougher addition, like $9 or $14. Older kids can add coins to their stash and learn to build a dollar out of dimes and quarters.
It’s the 25th anniversary of our best-selling Cash Register and we’re celebrating with 10 great games to play with pretend money, from coin counting and matching to making and tallying coin-a-pillars, Easter egg money counts, and more!
Sort It Out
This one’s for the littlest learners! Jumble up the coins and bills from the Cash Register and challenge your little ones to sort them out into the divided compartments in the Register. Point out that the different types of coins are different shapes and colors and that the bills have different numbers on them. Tell your child the value and name of each coin and bill as they put them away.
Penny Pitch
This fast-action learning game combines physical and mental fun! Give each child a handful of random play coins and a large plastic bowl. Place the bowls on the ground with the kids standing behind them and have each child take 5 big steps backward. Then ready, set, toss! Tossing one coin at a time, see how many each child can get into their bowl. Then challenge them to count the value of the coins inside.
Find It Fun
Hide your play coins and bills around the house (remember to track how many you’ve hidden!), then let your little ones loose. When you think all the coins have been found, have each child count the value of their stash. The seeker who found the most money wins!
Buy It Back
Using printer labels or tie-on tags, gather a few of your child’s toys, and put a price on them (round numbers are easier for little kids, dollars and cents work well for older kids). Give each child a bank of dollars and coins and have them “pay” you for the toys they want. Older elementary-school-aged kids can play cashier while YOU buy with bills, making your change from the register.
Slime Time
Turn money math into a sensory experience by placing your play coins in a batch of slime or a bin of Playfoam Pluffle™. Sneak in some fine motor skill practice by having your kids extract the coins using play tweezers – and total them up.
Money Match
Turning a sheet of printer paper sideways, draw a bunch of balloons tied with a string and let your little ones color them in. Then use a marker to write a random amount of dollars and cents on each balloon. Open your register and see if your child can remove the correct amount and place it on the matching balloon. Hint – keep your totals low so your kids can complete all the balloons without having to restock the register.
Money Bunny
Put those empty plastic Easter eggs to use! Fill each egg with a tiny surprise – a bit of chocolate, piece of chewing gum, etc. – then use a Sharpie to write a price on the outside of the egg. If your child can give you the correct amount of money, they win the prize inside!
Bingo Bucks
Practice matching and coin value by creating your own Bingo cards! Start by dividing a sheet of paper (card stock works well) into nine boxes. Write a coin value (1, 5, 10, or 25) in each, then give each child a handful of play coins. Reaching into your own pile, pull out a coin and call out its value. If the player has a matching coin and an open space with that value on their card, they place it there. The first player to complete a row, column, or diagonal wins the game!
Coin-a-Pillars
Turning a sheet of printer paper sideways, have your kids draw a caterpillar head (don’t forget the antennae) at one end, five or six empty circles with lines beneath each, a few fuzzy feet, and a line at the end. Color them in if you like. Then, with their eyes closed, have them pick five or six play coins out of a bowl and place them in their caterpillar’s circles. Using a pencil, have them write the value of each coin beneath it and total up the value on the line at the end. Remove the coins, erase the numbers, and begin again!
Slap Stack
Give each child a stack of random play bills and call out a number. The first player to find the bills that add up to that number and slap them down on the table wins the round. The first player to win five rounds wins the game! Start with simple numbers like $1 or $6 and work your way up to tougher addition, like $9 or $14. Older kids can add coins to their stash and learn to build a dollar out of dimes and quarters.
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