Financial Literacy for Littles

 

Guest Post by Marnie of Carrots are Orange

I spent a decade in the financial field, most recently experiencing the difficult economic times over the last several years only highlighting the need for teaching our children how to be financial responsible. I would go even further than “highlighting the need” to say “creating a sense of urgency” to which parents, educators and caretakers should take heed.

 

As part of my ongoing early financial literacy series, I thought sharing some website resources that I have found useful and interesting in my journey might be helpful to you.

 

  1. US Mint Kids – Focused mainly on “coins”, this section of the Mint’s website has wonderful resources for educators, including lesson plans beginning as early as kindergarten and going through 12th grade. The site even has a tool for examining attitudes toward money, which goes straight to the heart of the “issue”.
  2. Jumpstart – An amazing organization that brings together groups dedicated to the mission of financial literacy. This site begins as early as Pre-k and goes thru college.
  3. One Share – This organization is a gem. Through their program “My First Stock” One Share introduces children to investing as young as toddlers by allowing gifts of “one share”. They provide a hands on educational toolkit for children to learn the concept of ownership and long term investment growth.
  4. Federal Reserve Kids Page – Mainly for older children, this site offers a great FAQ list ranging from “What is the Federal Reserve?” to “What are interest rates?” providing insight into the US financial system. I learned a lot from clicking through and reading the answers.
  5. The Centsables – Consider these characters the superheroes of the financial world. Who says learning about money can’t be fun and exciting? The site offers lessons and tips to parents and educators. The Centables also provides activities and learning tools for kids.
  6. Three Jars – I love this concept marrying financial sense and technology. So beyond basic concepts, this site provides real, technologically driven hands on learning through their financial tool specifically geared for kids age 5-13. Generally the program divides “money” into save, spend and charitable giving. Parents can even assign chores through this program. Kids learn money management visually with graphs and other graphics, giving them insight into their money habits and the impact on their budget. 
  7. Moonjar – For many of the same reasons I love Moonjar. There is no online program but they do provide a wonderful educational kit and curriculum for parents and educators. They have a family kit and even a “conversations to go” kit that “questions money. There is no question their products will get children thinking about how to be responsible with money and help parents and educators teach money sense.

These websites provide a wonderful foray into the world of early financial literacy. I hope you will find the information and tools to help you in your journey to teach financial responsibility to your children and students.

 

Marnie is a wife, mom, daughter, twin, little sister, career woman, runner and writer for Carrots are Orange. She hails from Maine, a wonderfully down to earth place to grow up. Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999, and currently lives in Seattle. She blogs at CarrotsAreOrange.com.

 

{Are YOU interested in being our next guest-poster? Be sure to check out our guest post submission guidelines for more information.}

 

10 Comments

  1. Awesome, thank you for sharing 7 sites! Your timing for us is impeccable. We just started with “team allowance” for our 3 kids who are 8, almost 7, and 5.5. It’s been a perfect way for us to begin, and we’re ready to learn more.

  2. Thank you! My girls were just asking if we could start an allowance setup and this will help my husband and I figure out their rewards in a way that helps them why we can’t always buy everything… I hope!

    1. We <3 the Financial Peace Jr. kits! We used their Christmas money to purchase our 5 and 4 year old girls both the Monster pack and an additional set – our 5 year old "gets" it and is always now asking how she can earn a quarter. Our 4 year old now has a saving goal, but hasn't quite connected the wires about how to get there…all in good time! :D

  3. This is such a valuable resource. Thanks! We have our savings charts which are great but I love the Moonjar concept too! I hope you don’t mind but I’d love to share this post in my blog soon.

  4. This has helped me tremendously! I have a Girl Scout Troop of Brownies, Juniors, and a Cadette and we are working on our Financial Literacy Badge and this has been a wonderful resource for them to use! Thank you so much!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *