Making Math Count for Youngsters

  Life is like a math equation. In order to gain the most, you have to know how to convert negatives into positives—unknown

   

 Families can use everyday activities to help children prepare for math in school and have a life- long awareness, understanding, skill and good attitude toward numbers and problem solving with numbers.  Here are a few family activities to begin.

Grocery Store Math

   Grocery shopping is an ideal place to use math skills.  Young children can look through grocery ads and learn to read the numbers. They can look for prices of fruits, vegetables nutrition bars, yogurt, and other things they like to eat. Point out money signs in the store. You can play grocery store often at home with real or plastic food and play money. Take turns being the cashier.

  Review numbers while choosing groceries looking at prices of apples to reinforce decimals and compare cost of items. While many items no longer have individual sticker prices, there are often signs for sale prices.

   With older children you can teach them to round off numbers and add or multiply. For example, your child can round up to $3.00 and figure out about how much two cartons would be.  Talk about how we arrived at that number. Point out how the estimate differs from the true cost. Estimation is very useful in life.

 Cooking math 

  The kitchen is a great place to practice math, as long as, there's an adult around to supervise. Half and double recipes.  Drop dough 5x7 on a cookie sheet.  What is the total?  Count how many pepperonis are on the pizza?  If there are three people in your family divide nine strawberries equally among them. How many strawberries will each person receive?

Mapping

  Show children how to use all the forms of on-line Google maps directions, and Google earth. Tap on street view to find their house. Tap on the search icon, navigator wheel and others to explore from your kitchen table. You can even plan local road trips to find water falls or look at the depth of the Great Lakes shoreline. Search for free National Geographic geography games for kids. Paper maps work, too.

 Change up

   Teach children to recognize the value of coins early. They can start a penny collection and read the dates on the coins. They can use pennies to count by ones, nickels to count by fives, and dimes to count by tens. Four quarters equal a dollar. Do a little at a time.

  Put a piece of fruit on the table and teach to count out the price of 45 cents.  Start counting with pennies.  When they are ready use other coins.

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Photos, Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Sketches: Mark Nowicki

Economics for Kids Pays Dividends

 The best way to teach your kids about taxes is to eat one third of their ice cream cone .—Bill Murray

Teaching Economics Is Essential - Walk Them Through!

Teaching economics doesn’t need to be disgusting, but it is essential. Here are a few suggestions for teaching your children about making, managing, keeping, and making money work for them.  

Be Concrete

  Help children count out the exact amount of money for a taxable item and tell them they are going to learn a lesson at the checkout counter. When they pay for it, the clerk will tell children they do not have enough and must pay for tax. Digging out more money helps children remember the lesson. On the way home explain all the ways everyone pays taxes and where local, state, and federal taxes go. There are income taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, fees, property taxes, licenses, internet, phone, utility taxes and more. Show children “taxes” on your bills.  

  How is the money used? Taxes pay for government 

How Is the Money Used?

buildings, parks, libraries, services like plowing roads, city, state, and federal workers like teachers, librarians, waste disposal, police, and fire workers. Family members may work for the government, receive a government payment or pension.

  Young children can practice earning money and managing it by playing toy store. They can learn that businesses and people have many expenses. When finished, count the till and take out about half for all fees, licenses, personal, employee’s, local, state, and federal taxes. Then take out more than a fourth for employees’ wages and other payments, utilities, insurance, and cost of materials. What is left is theirs.

Labor Equals Payment

  According to economists, the earlier we attach work to production and pay, the earlier we teach children the economic principle of trading labor for capital (money). No matter how small the amount of birthday and holiday money children have, set up four jars. Label them save, spend, 

Labor & Investment - Build Savings

invest, and donate. Savvy Pig on-line has divided piggy banks for sale. 3jars.com has good explanations of these principles for kids.  “Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?” by Richard Maybury gives a clear explanation of economics for everyone third grade and above and the many versions of Monopoly are good economics games.

 For older kids the stock market site howthemarketworks.com has good explanations. You can explain how your 401K ‘s, union, pensions, and individuals are investing in the stock market. With your help children can do a” fantasy invest” and watch a stock like Disney. 

  Other concepts like how compounding interest can hurt or help them, the investment rule of 72, and opportunity cost are useful. Check Google for quick explanations.

  You can teach children to charge interest when they lend money to siblings. The youngest usually cleans up. For more see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com; wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons; Pinterest and Facebook since 2009.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling photos

Economics for Preschool Children

As the Weather Changes...Make Some Change!!

Do you have a change jar? Do you carry around heavy coins? These can be a source of easy and fun economic activities for young children. As weather changes...change right along with it!! Here's how:  Take out your change jar of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters when your children need a new quiet activity.  Be sure your children know not to put money in their mouth and continue to watch them.  It’s also a good idea to wash hands after handling money.

Money Games  

  Make a game out of sorting the coins into piles according to denomination.  Younger children can use shape, color and size to determine the correct pile.  As you work together, mention the names of the different coins.  

Sort and Teach!!

Line up each type of coin and count how many are in each category. Which group has the most coins? Which has the fewest? Count the pennies one by one.  Older kids can practice counting the nickels and dimes by fives and tens. Show how to write the cent and dollar signs.

   Sorting things by similarities is a very useful skill for reading, science and math.  Teach young children to count by touching each object. By teaching coin names, we are helping children to understand our monetary system.

    

Savvy Pig!! 

Adults can talk about how people earn money and how your family uses money to buy things.   The Savvy Pig savings banks help children collect coins and watch their money disappear when spent. They are divided into save, spend, donate, and invest to help teach children to save and give to charity. The Money Jar program is another. These help children learn early about choices and opportunity costs. The money people spend on one choice is not available for other things.

Take a Closer Look

  Use a magnifying glass to study pictures, numbers, and words on coins. What do they mean? Why are they on the coins? State quarters are especially interesting.

  Look in the paper or at stores to see how much things cost.   Children can make simple copies of the coins by rubbing over the surface of the metal.  Older children will like to play an exchange game where you trade pennies for nickels, dimes from a pile of coins.

  Simple games are based on “heads or tails.” Cover three coins with cups, one being tails. Move them around and ask children to pick up the cup with the tails coin. 

Play Store -- Great Economics Activity

Teach children to flip a coin and call heads or tails similar to a football game. Use heads or tails to decide who goes first.

   A favorite economics activity is playing store. Children set up a store, create or use real coins, determine or negotiate prices, and sell toys to each other just for fun. 

Savvy Piggy: https://www.amazon.com/Money-Savvy-Generation-LMSP-Blue-Pig/dp/B0002HRWBQ

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
Shetches: Mark Nowicki

For more science and math STEM adventures go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.

Economics for Preschool Children

As the Weather Changes...Make Some Change!!

Do you have a change jar? Do you carry around heavy coins? These can be a source of easy and fun economic activities for young children. As weather changes...change right along with it!! Here's how:  Take out your change jar of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters when your children need a new quiet activity.  Be sure your children know not to put money in their mouth and continue to watch them.  It’s also a good idea to wash hands after handling money.

Money Games  

  Make a game out of sorting the coins into piles according to denomination.  Younger children can use shape, color and size to determine the correct pile.  As you work together, mention the names of the different coins.  

Sort and Teach!!

Line up each type of coin and count how many are in each category. Which group has the most coins? Which has the fewest? Count the pennies one by one.  Older kids can practice counting the nickels and dimes by fives and tens. Show how to write the cent and dollar signs.

   Sorting things by similarities is a very useful skill for reading, science and math.  Teach young children to count by touching each object. By teaching coin names, we are helping children to understand our monetary system.

    

Savvy Pig!! 

Adults can talk about how people earn money and how your family uses money to buy things.   The Savvy Pig savings banks help children collect coins and watch their money disappear when spent. They are divided into save, spend, donate, and invest to help teach children to save and give to charity. The Money Jar program is another. These help children learn early about choices and opportunity costs. The money people spend on one choice is not available for other things.

Take a Closer Look

  Use a magnifying glass to study pictures, numbers, and words on coins. What do they mean? Why are they on the coins? State quarters are especially interesting.

  Look in the paper or at stores to see how much things cost.   Children can make simple copies of the coins by rubbing over the surface of the metal.  Older children will like to play an exchange game where you trade pennies for nickels, dimes from a pile of coins.

  Simple games are based on “heads or tails.” Cover three coins with cups, one being tails. Move them around and ask children to pick up the cup with the tails coin. 

Play Store -- Great Economics Activity

Teach children to flip a coin and call heads or tails similar to a football game. Use heads or tails to decide who goes first.

   A favorite economics activity is playing store. Children set up a store, create or use real coins, determine or negotiate prices, and sell toys to each other just for fun. 

Savvy Piggy: https://www.amazon.com/Money-Savvy-Generation-LMSP-Blue-Pig/dp/B0002HRWBQ

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos
Shetches: Mark Nowicki

For more science and math STEM adventures go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.

Learning and Fun with Money

Money is Fascinating to Children

Money is fascinating to young children especially when they look closely at the pictures and symbols. They learn about national monuments in Washington D.C., national parks, states, founding fathers, and presidents. They can learn what George Washington and Abraham Lincoln actually looked like.
  By examining money, families can begin teaching children about the history of the United States, slogans, and government basics (civics).
   Some easy and fun money experiences can be provided at home to supplement classroom activities around President’s Day. Older siblings or adults can spend time interacting, and answering questions while supervising young children.
Look Closely at Money

Money Helps Learn About National Monuments

  Collect some change and paper money and spread it out on the table. If children have a piggy back or have just received money, they will especially enjoy looking at “their money.” Use a magnifying glass to look at the pictures on the money. What date is on the coin? What US symbols and slogans are on the money? Talk about what a President does and how citizens choose this leader, especially important during an election year. Who is the President now?  Where does he live? Older children will like the philadelphia.org/education site and learn about pyramids, frogs, goddesses, and Santa Claus on early money.
  Sort and categorize the money in piles. Talk about what we call each piece of money. What do we do with money? Where do people keep their money? Older kids can learn the value of each coin and how we count change.
 

Talk About Money & Start A Collection

How much money is on the table if you add it all together? Write it down to show how we write dollars and cents. Younger kids will enjoy just counting how many of each type of coin is present. Line them up.  How many pennies would we need to make a nickel or dime? Children may want to start a quarter collection and learn about a state on each quarter.
Fun Money Science
 After covering a table with newspaper, mix a little salt with some lemon juice in a plastic or ceramic cup. Drop a few pennies into the lemon juice and let them soak for about 30 minutes.

Practice Science With Money

Then remove the pennies and wipe them with a paper or cloth.    Another suggestion is to make a little paste with the juice plus some baking soda, rub it on the penny for a few minutes, then rinse. The darker residue that is removed is copper oxide caused by oxygen in the air combining with the copper. A new shiny penny appears.  Remind children not to touch their eyes, wash hands, and wipe up the area. 
Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos 
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Teaching Children to Save

Start the Year Thinking About Saving!

Grandparent visits are great times to help children learn the importance of managing money. Young children can learn to save, donate, and spend wisely.The lifelong process of responsible personal finance can begin at a very early age.
Home Bank System
  To make a homemade banking system, label three see-through plastic containers with SAVE, DONATE and SPEND.
  There is also an award winning see-through plastic piggy bank with sections labeled SAVE, DONATE, SPEND, AND INVEST called "Money Savvy" piggy bank you can order on-line at: http://www.kidbanks.com/money-savvy-pig-bank/ --

Money Savvy Piggy Bank

This makes a great gift!
  Grandparents can help fill the bank by bringing coins instead of treats or toys when they visit. Young children like to receive coins rather than paper money from grandparents because coins seem like more money.  Unfortunately, children also like to eat coins or push them inside machines to see what will happen so supervise children handling money.
  Families can teach children to recognize and count the money. Sort pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters into piles using the proper names.
  Because pennies are worth “one,” they can be used to practice counting and end up with the correct value.  Move each coin and count together to avoid double counting and skipping numbers. Learning to say a number each time a coin is moved or dropped in the bank is an important skill and usually takes practice. Young children can count to ten or twenty and then start over again.
When children receive a new stash of money, supervise dropping equal amounts of money in each section. Otherwise, children quickly learn to place most of their money in the SPEND slot.
Talk About Money
  While the money is being counted, it’s a good time to teach young children to give to others through religious groups, charities, or the Humane Society.
 How do they plan to spend their money? What are they saving for?
 Families may want to encourage wise money use by matching the amount of money children devote to these areas.
  Families can make up a written piggy bank statement together and add or subtract the money in front of very young children. 

Take a 'Field Trip' to Your Bank Together!

Take children along when you do your banking and explain what you are doing.Open an account at the bank or credit union and give them age appropriate information. They won’t like learning their money is not actually in the bank or others use their money.
  Let children save up for items and take the money out of their own piggy banks. They often think twice before spending their own money and watching their pile go down, a good life lesson.
Photos: Fran Darling: fdarling fotos
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio, 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest