Teach kids about money
When you teach kids about money, it helps if they already know how to skip count. Start early in the year teaching the students how to count by 5s and 10s.
Practice throughout the day during carpet times or while waiting for recess or dismissal. During math times, have each child count and make one pile of five or ten objects and then as a group, count all the stacks.
Counting by 1s, 5s, and 10s
Have the children stand in a circle and raise one hand. They count by 5s as you walk around and touch each hand. Have them lift both hands when counting by 10s. Vary with fun stuff such as having the kids jump up to tap your hand or clap their hand against yours.
Remember to start slowly and don't assume that all children know that they have 5 fingers on one hand and 10 on two. Daily repetition will give the children skip counting skills so that they will be able to apply them later on in the year with a money unit.
Some children will memorize skip counting quickly, others will need more time. For most kindergarten children, this is a rote counting experience, they do not yet have number sense about larger numbers.
Teach kids about money with games
The following game not only teaches the names of the coins but gives children practice in counting, in learning the meaning of more than and fewer than, and the game can be adapted for various ability levels.
Teach kids about money with the "Money Line Game"
Children sit in a circle on the carpet.
Teacher demonstrates the game first.
Materials: 5 pennies in a small container and a counting mat for each child, brown bag with 1 - 5 number cards inside, more or less spinner
- Tell the children to choose some or all of their pennies and then put the money they choose in a line on their mat. Some will choose all 5, some 0, some 3 etcetera.
- Have a brown bag with the number cards from one to five in it and have the special helper of the day pick a card from the bag and put it on the carpet.
- Spin a "more than or less than" spinner.
- If the spinner lands on more than, the children that have placed more than the number chosen, jump up and turn around (or any other fun movement). This keeps the focus off winning and losing.
- If the spinner lands on fewer than the number chosen, the children who have picked fewer than the number chosen jump up and turn around.
This game can be adapted for various ability levels. Use more pennies per child, use nickels or dimes, have older children add the value of the coins they choose. Vary the numbers in the brown bag accordingly.
"The Stacking Game - 5s or 10s"
Teach kids about money with this stacking game. The game gives children an opportunity to make sets and practice counting by 5s or 10s. As always, demonstrate the game first.
Materials: Stacks of pennies, a timer, and squares of felt (to place on the table to keep the money from sliding around)
- Work with a group of about 5 - 8 children.
- Give each child in the group a stack of pennies on a felt square.
- Start the timer.
- Children make stacks of 10 pennies.
- When the timer rings, have all the children participate in counting by 10s as each child takes a turn touching their stacks of ten.
- Play again. Don't focus on who stacked the most.
- After a couple of weeks, vary the game by making stacks of 5s or even 2s if you would like the children to learn to count by 2s.
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