How To: Learning To Count Money and Change as a Child
“Money makes the world go around.” We have heard that expression used throughout the ages. While money doesn’t actually cause the earth to spin on its axis, it is an important factor in every day lives. We need money to purchase food, clothing and necessities. We use money to pay for our homes, lighting and water. This is why it is important for children to learn at an early age to count money.
Early learning In preschool and kindergarten, children begin to learn about shapes and colors. One of the items they learn about are the different coins. For example, the penny is a copper color while a quarter is silver. The quarter, of course, is larger than the penny.
Games can be played with the children to teach them to identify the differences between the coins. This makes the learning fun for them.
Learning as they grow When children reach first grade, they begin to learn about money in more depth. They will learn math skills and eventually learn to count money. Simple word problems are added to help the children with cognitive thinking. They will figure out how much money will be left, for example, if a person buys something. They will learn to count from the lowest to the highest coin. As they get older, they will also learn to count up to an amount using the least coins possible. For instance, if they need to count 55 cents, they will learn to use 2 quarters and a nickel rather than 5 dimes and a nickel.
Helping them learn at home The parent can play a significant role in teaching their child to count money. Saving change each day and letting them count it gives them practice and gives them a sense of pride. As a reward, they could keep the change for counting it correctly. When they have saved enough, the parent can take them to the store to buy something. Counting the money out for the item they buy will help them with counting skills as well as everyday living. There are toys that can be purchased to help children learn to count. A cash register with play money can be an excellent learning tool. One child can be the cashier while the others are shoppers. As they “purchase� their items, they will learn to count while having fun. David Milberg is an entrepreneur and an investment banker from NYC.