Family and Homeschool Activities: Dollars and Cents

These family and homeschool activities are designed to complement the Dollars and Cents topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Allowance

One of the best ways to learn about money is to deal with it on a regular basis. If possible, give your child a small weekly or monthly allowance. Give your child different coins and/or dollar bills and together with your child, count the money. Have your child identify the monetary value of each coin and/or bill. Then have your child sort the coins into groups. Have him or her explain how to count the coins and keep a running tally of the total value. Encourage your child to save money for important items and make a plan to save a little each week.

Penny Exchange

Place pennies in a bag. Have your child reach in and take a handful of pennies and count them together. Then have your child exchange the pennies for other coins. For example, your child can exchange 5 pennies for a nickel or 10 pennies for a dime. Then sort the different coins and have your child count each group. Remind your child how to skip count to count nickels and dimes. This will help your child understand how skip counting is a fast and efficient way of counting money.

Change is Good

Reward good behavior in the home with coins. Take an empty jar and place a coin in the jar whenever your child behaves well. Good behaviors can include completing a chore without being asked, helping a family member, asking or waiting politely, or watching over a sibling. At the end of the month, count the coins with your child. Your child can decide what he or she would like to do with the money.