This activity requires play money and at least two participants. You can create your own menu or get take-out menus from a local restaurant. One child acts as the server and the others as patrons. The server takes the orders, calculates the total bill and gives correct change. The patrons ensure the bill is correct and count out the money to pay it. Older children can also determine the amount to add for a 15 percent tip and 10 percent tax. Players rotate the role of server.
Children look at a menu and design matching pairs of index cards based on menu items. For example, one card might say, “Total amount for a $3.50 hamburger and a $1.00 drink,” and the matching card would read, “$4.50.” They can decorate the cards with pictures of food items. Game cards are placed face down, and participants take turns trying to find matching pairs. The winner is the person who picks up the greatest number of matches.
Children can practice averaging as they predict whether it’s fair to split the cost of a bill when eating out with a group. Each person in the group chooses menu items that might include an appetizer, a drink, an entree and dessert. Each one calculates his total cost and records it on a sheet of paper. Then they add the totals together and divide by the number of participants to find the average cost. The group figures out how much more or less than the actual cost each person would have to pay when the totals are averaged.
Estimation and calculator skills come into play with this menu activity. Each person in a small group chooses one item from the menu. They take turns saying how much the item costs and all group members keep a running mental estimate and then write their final figure on a sheet of paper. They use calculators to add the actual costs to see whose guess was closest. Older children can extend the activity by estimating a 20 percent tip and a 10 percent tax on the total bill.