This activity is appropriate for preschool-age children who are just gaining an understanding of coins and their values. Collect several values of coins and display them in your classroom art center. Allow students to explore the coins at their own pace. Place magnifying glasses near the coins and encourage children to take a closer look. Allow children to trace the coins or making coin rubbings by placing a piece of white paper over several coins and rubbing over the paper with the side of a crayon. After students have had ample time to explore the coins and have been introduced to the name of each coin, place them all in a shoe box. Cut a hole in the top of the box and ask one student at a time to place his hand in the box and pick up a coin. Without removing his hand from the box, ask if the student can identify the name or value of the coin simply by feeling the size and texture.
This game is appropriate for students just learning about money and the value of each bill and coin. Using real coins, give each student a change purse of differently valued coins. You can create simple change purses using plastic sandwich bags. Each student should label his bag with his name. Label certain items in the classroom with price tags, such as pencils for five cents, paper for two cents, etc. Give students 10 minutes to shop in the classroom and pay for their items using the coins in their bag. For another challenge, assign one student to be the cashier. The cashier must add up the number of items, decide the grand total and make change. Allow each child a chance to be the cashier.
This game is appropriate for older children who are learning about banking and checkbooks. Give each student a pretend weekly budget of $100. Tell the students that will need to decide how they are going to spend their budget each week. Using sale papers from the newspaper as well as the Internet, allow students to decide on which items to spend their budget. Use pretend checks and have students practice writing checks correctly, as well as keep track of their spending in a check register. For example, if a student chooses to see a movie, he will write a check for the amount of the movie then also write the amount spent in his check register. Be sure he subtracts the amount before writing another check. This exercise will help children realize why it is important to keep track of their spending.
This exercise is appropriate for older students and can be a valuable tool for introducing budgeting to children. Separate students into groups of two and explain that they are now a married couple, for the purposes of this assignment. Provide each student with a slip of paper stating a career and allow each pair to research the average salary for the career they have been given. Based on that amount, the students must buy or rent a place to live, budget for transportation, food and other bills. Have each pair prepare a report or a presentation based on their research and findings.