Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

My 5 yo has been really in to playing with money latley.  She gathered up a little over $3.00 in misc. change around the house and has been playing all kinds of counting games and store type games.  The other day we were in the kitchen and she started singing "Two dimes and a nickle make 25 cents and that is a quarter!"  I was surprised!  I knew she had learned all the coins and there values last year when we made her Money Lapbook.   I had not yet covered how to combine change though.  I asked her how she knew that and she told me "My bank told me."  Ahhhh, the Leap Frog Super Saver Teaching Bank.  She got it for Christmas last year and had played with it a little, but it really was a little to old for her at the time.  But, the other day I noticed it had been brought back out.  This is a really cool product that for $19.99 is well worth the money in my opinion. (Although I did't pay that much because I got it at Kohl's during one of there amazing Christmas Sales.)  Here is the little info blurb from the Leap Frog webpage:

This is the fun way to learn about saving. With songs, lights and fun facts that reward each deposit.

Kids set a personal saving goal and with every coin they drop into the bank they hear the coin name, value, a fun fact and the total savings amount. The goal meter on the animated LCD screen lights up as they save their way toward their goal. They learn valuable lessons about math, money and even early addition and subtraction.

Super Saver Teaching Bank has a Parent Guide with a page to record all withdrawals and a high/low volume control.

Another thing my kids have is the Coin-u-later.  This item is more of a handheld game.  You don't need actual coins to play it.  There are buttons for each coin and for the dollar.  You can use it to count change or play games.  I would give my son a pile of change when he was little and have him use the coin-u-later to figure out what I had given him.  (This item may be harder to find, but I do believe I have seen it new at one of the school supply stores recentley.) You probably don't need both of these, but this one does include the dollar, so it does have a different function.

Now that I have realized she is understanding how to combine coins we have been playing a lot of  "Mom, how much does this bunny cost?",  "I'll sell you that for 11 cents.",  "Okay, here is a dime and a penny."  This is MUCH more fun than a workbook for both of us!

I just love it that there are so many wonderful gadgets and gizmos available for a reasonable price.   I am very happy to have them do some of the teaching for me in a fun and creative way!