Once young children are able to identify and "shop" with pennies, nickels, and dimes (hopefully by the end of 1st grade), they can then move on to quarters and larger coins and bills. So to put it all together for children in grades 2 and 3, I'd like to recommend some additional picture books.
The book that put all the pieces together for Terry Doherty's daughter was Loreen Leedy's Follow the Money! It's a perfect book for not only transitioning to quarters and dollars, but also for learning a little bit about the history of money, how and where it is made and used, and which famous Americans are on each coin. You can read the full review at The Reading Tub blog.
Why not have your children start saving coins in a jar? It's a great way to teach them about saving. It's even better if they sort the coins into different jars. You could even label each jar with the type of coin, and the number of cents it's worth. It's a great way to bring in literacy and number recognition.
Here are two more wonderful picture books which make it easy to discuss the importance of saving money, and children will learn something about character along the way:
- A Chair for My Mother, by Vera B. Williams.
- The Hard-Times Jar, by Ethel Footman Smothers.
I'd like to call your attention, once again, to www.usmint.gov, which is a wonderful online resource.
You can also find some fantastic tips for teaching children about money at www.youngmoney.com, and some fun facts about the Lincoln penny here. For tweens and teens who want to take it a step further and learn how to make money, you can find some great book recommendations at School Library Journal.
That's it for my coin series for now. If you missed the first four posts, you can find all of them in my math resources category. You can easily access part 6 here.
If you know of any other money related picture books or online resources, please feel free to share!
