We started with some money math in the beginning of the year and were unsuccessful (she had started with money already in 1st grade). We did some more basic math (addition, subtraction) and now are going to go back and start the money unit again. She's OK with remembering the values of the coins, but she gets stuck with the addition when the coins start to form dollars. She keeps forgetting 100 cents equals 1 dollar. She does the same thing with time, forgetting 60 minutes make one hour. She is missing that concept. Any suggestions? Curriculum suggestions? Her basic math is fine.
A homeschooling friend of mine gave her kids toy money to 'spend' on food during the day. She said she later moved it to real money. It taught them the value of money beyond just the numbers; they had to decide if they wanted to spend more on the junk food and find themselves possibly hungry later or spend money on the healthier food and save their money.
That's a great suggestion Shelley! The money has to be a real thing. Make sure you actually have 100 pennies to trade for a dollar. Lay them out neatly in groups of 10 (2 rows of 5), so she can see how many there are. Don't panic, she'll get it eventually. She should not see you being distressed over it. Time can wait for now - the 60 minute idea is actually more complicated than 100 cents in a dollar (It is a holdover from the ancient Babylonians who had a base 60 number system). Erna.
I'm going to make some of these for DS http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/MoneyCountCards.htm I'm looking for other money games, when I find them, I'll send them your way
We have a game called Presto Change-O that was great when we were starting out with money.. and now that Garrett is fine with money it's fun to play just as a game. I will also use it for the little ones when the time comes.
Keep plenty of change on you. Then, when you go to the store (if there isn't a line), have her count out the change to give the clerk. This was easier for me, because I always pay cash for groceries. This especially worked well with Phillip, and often the clerks would say something to him about how well he was doing. Or when the clerk would give back change, I would tell him to count it "to be sure the lady got it right".
I taught a money class this last two semesters at my coop how about doing some sort of bingo game. I made my own easy enough to do with what they need to learn. Pretend store: Pretending to do a grocery shopping trip was fun too for the kids. They had items that I had marked that they could buy and some real money. Took turns being the cashier and the shopper.
We use "money" with all 3 kids. It works to teach the youngest what money is, how to use it, how to count it, etc; but it also teaches the older kids the value of money (and the hard work they have to do to earn that money). You can print out paper money, but I like to get the little money toy's you can find in the dollar stores because they also include plastic coins so we are not just dealing with dollars and the mess paper coins make when the kids are too busy playing with it instead of "saving" it.
Thanks for all your suggestions! I'm excited now, I think she's going to do great this time! I love the real-world application. That's exactly why we teach about money!
Echoing, toy money is very important. You can buy really good sets that look pretty real. My kids really got the hang of county back change when I got that money set.
HAve you looked at www.learningpage.com ? If you join thier mailing list (free), you have access to all the stuff on the site for free. There is a Money Unit Oh...and GOOD Play money - Wally World sells sets of them that are very realistic looking (coins, paper money is smaller and white - but the "real" bills not made up ones).
