Children watch adults using money and quickly grasp its importance. They want to learn about this powerful stuff and how to acquire it and use it themselves. Money may at first seem like a heavy topic, but it can be approached in a fun way through online games and printable activities.
Coins, bills, checks, and credit cards are all money. Banking, loans, interest, and taxes all have to do with money. Additionally, the presidents and historic events featured on money, as well as the metals and other materials from which money is made are all related to the broad topic of money.
Online Games and Websites About Money
H.I.P. Pocket Change is the children's website of the U.S. Mint. It has money games, animated lessons, information on coins, facts about money, news about money, money history, resources for coin collectors, and a parents' and teachers' area with lesson plans and free educational materials for educators.
NOVA's Anatomy of a Bill tells the secrets of making money including information on printing, the many security features, ink, and paper.
PlanetOrange.com, presented by Ing Direct, provides an engaging virtual world where children can learn about money, spending habits, and economics.
FederalReserveEducation.org, a service of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, provides games, comics, and interactive activities for children, as well as lesson plans and resources for educators.
Cyberchase at PBSKids.org, the children's website based on the educational children's television program, gives children the opportunity to practice earning, saving, and spending in the course of playing The Quest, an online game, and through other activities within the featured theme: Know Your Dough.
Printable Worksheets and Activities About Money
The Cyberchase website provides financial literacy print activity kits on the following math topics.
- Saving and Spending
- Budgeting
- Bartering and Monetary Systems
ABCTeach.com provides money-themed printable worksheets including checks, a check register, and dollar bills and Canadian coins.
Financial Literacy Learning Requirements
According to the World Book: Typical Course of Study presented in the Homeschool Curriculum Standards Checklists, learning about money progresses as follows.
- Values of Coins (Grade 1)
- Handling Money (Grade 2)
- Consumers and Producers (Grade 3)
- Economic Systems (Grade 6)
- World Trade (Grade 6, 7)
- Insurance, Banking, and Taxes (Grade 8)
- Investment, Budgeting, Economics (Grade 9)
- Economic Concepts and Theories (Grade 12)
- Consumer Education (Grade 12)
- Family Economics and Management (Grade 12)
The study of money is strongly related to the study of political history. A course of study on currency can include study of the presidents and historical events featured on bills and coins, as well as on the materials and methods used to manufacture the money. Online games, interactive activities, and printable worksheets and comics give children fun ways to learn about the world of money.
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Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.
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