The Jump Start Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy has found that the average high-school graduate is lacking basic money-management skills. One key to correcting this problem is to start teaching children financial literacy at a young age.
Some ideas:
First, have you opened a SAVING ACCOUNT with your child? If not, do this together. Go over monthly statements with your child so they can see how it is growning. Savings can come from portions of gifts, allowance, and earnings from odd jobs for the family and about the yard and house.
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MAKE A COFFEE CAN WISH LIST
1. Have the kids cut pictures from old magazines or draw pictures of something they want.
2. Decorate the cans with glitter, the pictures, stickers. etc.
3. Cut a slit in the plastic top of the can for the child to deposit money.
4. Each time children add money to the can, they are contributing a little bit more to the "wish" item. A great way to teach kids to save money! Be sure to tell parents the purpose/value of the can...
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READ BOOKS THAT CONTAIN MONEY IN THE THEME
Help kids learn about money in a fun way! There are so many good "message" books from which to choose. A good book list for children ages five to thirteen is here... Reading and then discussing “message books" ” (books written with a lesson built in) is a great way to teach life lessons!
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JAR FULL OF PENNIES
Helping others is a common theme during the holiday season. Start collecting pennies and by the end of 2010, you'll have plenty to donate. All you need is a clear plastic jar in a prominent place - so everyone (children, parents, and staff members) remember to deposit any spare pennies. )
- To begin, gather the group to talk about the importance of giving back to others. Choose a charity together. Talk about: "How many pennies do you think the jar can hold? How much is that in dollars? How long do you think it will take us to fill the jar?"
- Every day, everyone puts pennies into the jar. Check in with the group every week: Are we halfway there yet? How much money do you think we've collected?
- When the jar is full, count the pennies (grouping by 10 might make it easier) and find the total in dollars. Compare estimates with the total amount collected. Then, donate!
Source: mixinginmath.terc.edu.
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BUDGET EXPERIMENT
One activity, adapted from moneyandstuff.info can help children experiment with budgeting.
The children will need paper and pencils. Provide each child with a "budget" of $25 or $50. Give each child a store flier or catalog and ask each child to write down what items they would like to buy. After a few minutes, have them add up the cost of the items they've chosen.
Did they stay within their budgets? For an additional activity, have the children talk about the items they wanted to buy.
- Are the items necessities or luxuries?
- Explain the difference between wants and needs and see if the children's buying plans change.
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SPEND AN AFTERNOON MAKING A BANK! This just may inspire you child to fill it up--saving towards a goal--or to then visit a commercial bank and deposit the savings.
#1 PAINTED PIGGY BANKS
Turn empty Kool-Aid canisters into piggy banks that the kids design and create. Simply peel the outside label off the plastic canister. Wash the canister and dry completely. Once dry, arrange the various paints and brushes... Children can use their imagination to make an animal, face or ________? Cut a slit in the top of the canister.
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#2 CLOWN BANK
Materials: Paper towel tube, cardboard, construction paper, yarn, poster board
1. Tape or glue a round piece of cardboard to each end of a paper towel tube.
2. Cut a slot for the clown's mouth, Make it large enough for coins to go through.
3.Paint the tube white, Glue on yarn hair and features cut from the paper.
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GIVE KIDS AN ALLOWANCE
Kids need to practice making good choices with money and they need money to do that...Getting children to save money is important. It sets them up for a life time of making good financial choices!
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