How to Teach Kindergartners About Finances

A kindergartner understands the concept of trade.

Kindergartners may recognize the fact that their parents go to a store and hand a plastic card or cash to a cashier, but it's unlikely that they understand that what their parents are doing is actually a trade. Mom and Dad are trading funds for something they would like to have in return. The good news is, kindergartners have likely been taking part in trades since they were toddlers.

Instructions

1. Introduce them to money. While you're teaching them about the penny and nickle, place one stick of gum next to the penny and stack five sticks next to the nickle, giving them a sense of how much more five is than one. Do the same with the others as you add new coins. As they become comfortable with the concept of different coins having different values, place a stack of raisins or jelly beans on each desk, and show students a picture of a coin. Ask them to separate the value of that coin from the stack. For example, they would count out 10 jelly beans when they see a dime.

2. Play the "needs" and "wants" game. This game will help children understand that they don't need everything they see. Sit in a circle and pull items from a bag. Ask the children to identify whether the item is something they need or something they want. For example, you may pull a roll of toilet paper from the bag and they could tell you that they need that item. If you pulled a Matchbox car, they would label it as something they want.

3. Set up an auction. Ask kindergartners to tell you about the last time they remember trading something with someone and explain that paying is the same thing. Give each student a stack of coins and tell them that you're going to have an auction. Make it clear that you have a lot of things to auction and that if they spend their money on one item, they may not have any money to buy what they want when it comes along. Auction items like erasers, chalk and bookmarks.

4. Teach them to be critics. Collect a pile of Sunday newspapers, and ask students to help you find advertisements intended to convince people to trade their money for something they may not need. Give students a weekend assignment and enlist their parent's aid. Ask them to come back on Monday morning with one example of an advertisement they saw. It could have been during Saturday morning cartoons or on a billboard along the highway. Use this opportunity to explain that throughout their lives there will be people who would like for them to buy things and that just like the auction, they need to decide whether the time is right.

References

• "Time"; How to Teach Kids About Money; Barbara Kiviat; January 2010
• Family Education; 15 Ways to Teach Kids About Money; Paul Richard