Teaching financial literacy to children as young as six through Montessori materials offers invaluable benefits for their future financial well-being. Early exposure to concepts like budgeting, saving, and responsible spending instills lifelong habits that can lead to financial independence and success. Our new material, Money Games, provides hands-on learning experiences that engage children and empower them to understand the value of money and the importance of making informed financial decisions. Children develop critical thinking skills from a young age, differentiate between needs and wants, and cultivate a sense of responsibility toward managing their finances. Integrating financial education into the Montessori curriculum equips children with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of the modern economy and achieve long-term financial stability while learning about the U.S. currency system. Money Games has been designed by Mark Powell, a well-experienced Montessorian who understands the challenges of teaching financial literacy, which can be daunting for teachers. But, have no worries; our curriculum comes with a complete scripted Lesson Plan, which has been tested and perfected to serve children ages 6 to 12. The Lesson Plan offers scaffolded activities and variations to meet various learners’ needs. The games are meant to recreate real-life experiences with money and offer opportunities for collaboration with other students. This blog post will explore the many possibilities Money Games offers!
Materials
Related materials: Dollar Board, Coin Boards: Set 1, Coin Boards: Set 2, Introduction to US Currency Complete Set
Money Games
There are three main collaborative Money Games included in the Lesson Plan booklet. You will find a few variations to adapt to your diverse partners based on their interests. You may initiate each game and let learners take over the game’s pacing. Most of the materials are included in the complete set; however, you must provide the bills. We suggest you borrow money from a Monopoly game or a similar game that contains bills with the following denomination: $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. You can copy 20 sheets with all 6 different bills on one sheet to create a “Pay Packet.”
Aims
- Internalize coin values, relationships, and fractional equivalences
- Understand fundamental needs using a limited income
- Make change with both coins and bills
Game 1: The Coin Game (2 players)
This first game is preceded by a story on coins, the script of which is provided in the Lesson Plan. Each player starts with a wooden Coin Board, a die, and the Cash Box between the two boards. Players decide who goes first. The first player throws the die and receives the amount on the die in pennies. The first player places the pennies on the board and passes the die to the second player. Once a player can exchange a nickel for a nickel, they should exchange it from the Cash Box and place it on the board. The way the game can end is determined by the players. They can choose to exhaust the money from the Cash Box, use a timer, or decide how many turns each player will have. At the end of the game, the player with the largest amount wins.
Game 2: Where Should the Money Go? (1-2 players)
In this next game, learners will experience paying bills! They are provided a series of cards with household financial obligations (food, rent/mortgage, clothing, electricity, heating…). Being familiar with the Montessori lesson on fundamental needs, the players will decide how to distribute the money using a “pay packet,” which contains bills. Several cards, such as charity, vacation, entertainment, and savings, have an unspecified amount. This helps learners understand that other factors outside the fundamental needs must be considered. This game can be played alone or with a partner. The game ends when the money has covered the minimum monthly needs.
Game 3: Pay Up Please! (3 players)
This game requires three players (one bank teller and two workers), cards with large amounts of money, and a Cash Box. This game aims to handle large amounts of money using coins and bills, make exchanges, use credit cards, and understand bankruptcy. Two workers take turns drawing a card and pay the other player the amount indicated on the card. Change can be made at the Cash Box with the help of the skillful bank teller! Once a player has no money, they may use their “credit cards.” The first player to end up bankrupted exchanges position with the bank teller in the next game.
The Money Games set is a fun way to experience some of the challenges of handling money in real-life situations. This experience promotes and enhances financial literacy skills while learning to cooperate with other people to make smooth transactions and manage money responsibly!
