- You are in the right place if you want to help students become financially aware!
Why is it important to teach young students to be Financially Aware?
Having worked in the financial industry for over 20 years, I feel financial awareness is an important topic. We should start teaching and introducing money to children at an early age.
So, this information should be used as a good starting point for financial awareness and not intended to be financial advice. I hope you find some valuable tips that will help inspire and create interest in this topic so young children can increase and develop their financial knowledge.
Young Kids and Money
Young kids should start learning the concept of money as soon as possible. They need a place to learn the benefit of saving and sometimes this topic is overlooked at home and in our schools. Being financially aware will help children make better and larger decisions.
Making their own decisions not only teaches responsibility but also allows students to acquire experience. These early decisions will help strengthen their ability to be more successful in decision-making during their teen and adult years.
Teaching Basic Money Concepts
For young children in pre-school, first, and second grade, start by teaching them to identify coins. Point out the different colors, sizes, and values of the coins. It may be a difficult concept for some children to understand that a dime, the smallest coin, has a greater value than that of a penny or nickel. Understanding what money is about – is the first step in learning about money!
The Lesson, Goals, and Key Focus
The key focus is making sure young students have mastered identifying the coins and learning their values. Early training in money will establish learning patterns that will be helpful for the future. Most children learn at an early age that buying toys or candy costs money.
Help them understand that ten pennies are the same as one dime or two nickels. Play a game where your child can think of combinations of coins that can equal a nickel, dime, quarter, or dollar. They will soon realize that coins are fractions or parts of a dollar and that money is based on the dollar.
Teach kids that money comes in a variety of different sizes, shapes, metals, and also in paper forms. It is the difference in the values that matter.
Guiding kids now will help them gain confidence as they grow.
