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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
Between
the ages of 2 and 4, children learn to count, and
by age 4 they know that in order to get what they
want in a store, they have to pay for it. By age 5
or 6 they can distinguish between pennies, nickels,
dimes and quarters, and many kids are already making
small purchases on their own.
The earlier children get used to handling money and
dealing with change, the better. It gives them "money
confidence". What follows are some great learning
opportunities parents and child care providers can
use to
teach preschoolers about money.
What
Children Learn From Money
Money
teaches children counting, shapes and sizes, sharing,
identifying things, decision making skills, budgeting,
the value of work and responsibility.
Social Skills
There are many opportunities to teach children about
money while at the same time enhancing their social
skills. In your dramatic play area you could set up
a restaurant, grocery store, flea market, etc., complete
with menus, plastic food, and play money. They can
pretend to be waiters and waitresses, cashiers and
shoppers.
You
might also let your children play store with a little
bit of real money. Give them plastic change purses
to carry some pennies, nickels and dimes in. (See
the Art and Craft section below to make change purses.)
Encourage the children to count their money before
they go out shopping so they can get an understanding
of how much money they have and what they might be
able to buy with that money. This is also a great
time to talk about saving when the children see they
don't have enough money for a higher ticket item.
While
playing storekeeper, waiter, etc., you can talk to
the children about how these people earn their money.
This will open up a discussion about allowance, saving
money, banking, budgeting, etc. Teach children that
family members work to pay for food and clothes. Let
the child visit different workplaces like the grocery
store, the fire hall, even the public library.
A
visit to the bank would also enhance their learning
experience with money. It provides an opportunity
to talk about ATM machines and that their parents
can't get money out of the bank or machine unless
they put some money in, and so on.
Language Skills
Read
stories about money matters and responsibility. Your
librarian will be happy to help you pick out simple
easy-learning books on money, like, Pigs Will Be
Pigs : Fun With Math and Money by Amy Axelrod,
The
Go-Around Dollar by Barbara Johnston Adams, 40
Ways to Teach a Child Values by Paul Lewis, or
Pick Up Your Socks...and Other Skills Growing Children
Need! by Elizabeth Crary. Don't forget to check
out our list of Web sites below that can help you
teach children about money in a fun and interactive
way.
Here's
a great little song and coin recognition exercise
the kids will enjoy. Write the following song (sung
to the Farmer in the Dell) on a white board or large
piece of paper and tape the corresponding coin at
the end of each line. :
Cents
A penny is worth 1
A nickel is worth 5
A dime is worth 10
And a quarters worth 25
Arts & Crafts
Change Purse
Cut an rectangle out of heavy construction paper.
Fold the paper two thirds of the way to make the change
section of the purse and leave enough room for the
flap. Glue the sides together. Cut a circle or square
of Velcro and glue to the inside of the flap and close
to the top of the inside portion of he change purse.
Let the children decorate their purse with beads,
glitter, or just with markers or crayons. Put each
child's name on his her purse. You could also make
the purse out of plastic, punching holes along the
side and having the children string the purse together.
A snap could hold the purse closed.
Money
Jars
Have the children decorate three jars or cans, then
label them Spend, Save and Share and put their names
on the jars. The children can put a portion of their
allowance into each jar so they can see what they
can spend now, how fast their money is growing, and
how they can share their money with the less fortunate,
or to help a worthy cause.
Science/Cooking/Math
Cooking:
Help the children make some simple baked goods such
as muffins or cookies to host a bake sale. Have them
make notices about the bake sale to post at the facility
and to send home with the parents. At the end of the
day the children can set up the goodies for the parents
and themselves to purchase. This helps the children
learn the value of their money, to give change to
the parents, and how working (i.e. being a baker),
helps them earn money.
You
could also bake cupcakes and set up different stations
around the room where the children can pay a penny
for each decoration they want on their cupcake, like
sprinkles, a cherry, etc. The money raised from the
sale can be divided equally amongst the children and
placed into their three jars made during crafts.
Science:
Children
learn by what they see and do. Using coins, ask the
children what they can see? Feel? Do? Talk about the
different properties of coins. Paper money too. Talk
about how money is made at the mint. Gather books
from the library on the properties of copper, nickel,
silver, etc.
Help
the children start a coin collecting. Take some time
going over the different dates on the coins, the different
faces of the coins. Show the children some old coins
if you can. Perhaps some parents can help you here.
This is a great way to explain the history of money.
Math:
Using
money is a great way to help youngsters learn to count.
Take some time with the children
to really look at each coin and read the words on
it. Ask them to look at the nickel and tell how the
nickel is different from the penny in size, color,
and value. Make a chart showing how many pennies there
are there in a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. Or have
each child draw a circle on a piece of paper and write
a number on it from one to ten. The children can then
take their pennies and place the right amount under
each circle. You can do the same for a dime or a quarter,
using nickels. Talk about the different combinations
of coins for values more than five cents, such as
five nickels make a quarter, two nickels make a dime,
etc.
Save,
wrap, count coins and take them to the bank.
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