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by
Catherine Pruissen
Once
children are past putting pennies in their mouths,
you can start teaching them about the value of money.
After all, children are curious about money, especially
coins. Here are a few simple techniques for teaching
preschoolers the value of money. (Close supervision
of young children is necessary what small objects.)
Counting
Value
Place
a nickel on the left side of a table, and place five
pennies on the right side. Explain to the children
the value of the nickel as it relates to the pennies.
If you continue this strategy using dimes, quarters,
half dollars, etc., before you know it, the children
will have mastered the art of not only counting money,
but understanding its value as well.
Alternatives
Preschoolers are old enough to learn to choose between
a set of alternatives when you give them
a small amount of money. The amount should be small
enough that losing it won’t be a big issue. You can
start out by having the children choose between two
treats at a pretend store. Have a a few objects such
as candies, cookies, etc., and allow the children
to exchange their pennies or nickels for the goodie
of their choice. Once they have learned to spend their
money in this simple fashion, you can take them to
the real store to learn about handing the money to
the store clerk for their goodies.
Saving
for Something Special
Once the children have mastered the value of a nickel
over a penny and a quarter over a nickel, and have
learned how to pick the best buy for their money,
they are ready to learn how to save their money for
special things, such a a picture book or a small toy
they've had their eye on. They'll learn how to count
their money, how much they need in coins to buy their
special object, and how to save so much of their money
so they can still enjoy the simple things while saving
for the special things. This also teaches them they
have options when it comes to money. This is a great
time to start teaching them to put part of a birthday
present in a penny bank or take them to the real bank
so they can put their money away where it is safe
until they need it.
Allowance
Systems
Most children grow up learning from some form of allowance
system. An allowance helps children learn to plan
for future expenses and set aside some for future
use. It also teaches them that the amount of money
they have is limited, especially when they have to
choose between different alternatives such as buying
a candy bar and saving some of their allowance for
the sparkly ball at the department store. Providing
children with an earned allowance is a great way for
parents to teach children how to set a budget and
keep a record of their money. Obviously this exercise
needs to be geared to the age of the child, but even
preschoolers can learn these exercises easily.
Money
Makes Money
A
great way to teach children about the value of saving
money is to show them that money being put away in
a bank account, or even in their penny bank, is busy
earning interest (making more money for them). For
very young children, use two containers and a little
change to teach them about interest. Mark one container
'S' for savings and the other 'I' for interest. When
a child puts a quarter in one jar (the savings jar),
you put a nickel in the other jar (the interest jar).
The children will understand that money can work for
them, and they'll be inspired to participate in a
savings program. Use the child's bank book as a real
life example. Show them when they have earned interest
and how their $20 is now $20.50, and how, over so
many months, it will be worth even more.
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