I was working with a group of 4th and 5th graders on Pet Project, a project where kids get to take care of a pet for a year. Part of the project requires kids to go through catalogs and buy things for their pet. They need to fill in a real order form and write a check using some old checks I saved when I closed an account (with all important information blacked out). They love this project because they…
Spending money is easy. Ask any kid. For most, the list of things they want is endless. And spending money is not bad, it’s just important to spend it wisely. That was the idea behind a lesson I did with a group of second graders. But I didn’t tell them that. I thought it would be more fun if I tempted them and let them figure it out. So I printed a whole bunch of stickers for items that kids…
I was in Michael’s yesterday buying key charms for my money management lesson on the keys to compounding. With my 40% off coupon, of course. I was behind a mom who I felt increasingly sympathetic for. But not really because she allowed herself to be in the position she was in. The mom was there with her two daughters. They looked to be about 8- and 9-years old. The older one asked her mom if she could buy one of…
I was working with a group of second graders last week. The topic was needs vs. wants. All of my money classes begin with this discussion as knowing the difference is the beginning of effectively managing money. So when we got to the activity part of the lesson, kids were cutting out pictures from magazines and pasting them on their mini-poster. The poster was divided into two sections…needs and wants. It’s fun for me to walk around the room and talk…
It’s funny how some things just work out and you’re not even aware that it’s happening. That’s the way it was with my new kitchen table and teaching lessons in my money management class. It wasn’t even supposed to be my new kitchen table. It was supposed to be my new office desk. Desk-hunting one Sunday afternoon, John and I ended up at Crate and Barrel. While browsing for office furniture we happened by an awesome kitchen table, the kind…