TOPIC:

Learning to count and use money

RESOURCES NEEDED:

A computer

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:

Children need to learn how to count and use money. At school they are learning how to solve money problems. This game will help them to practice adding totals and checking to see if they got the correct amount. When they go shopping, they will know if they are getting the correct amount of change.

THE ACTIVITY:

• Open the lemonade stand game for kids at the following link.
• Show them how to play. (In this game a boy named Larry calculates the prices for the customers at his lemonade stand. The player must find the total and check if they are overcharging, undercharging, or asking for the correct amount of money.) http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/money/lemonadestand.html

FOLLOW UP IDEAS:

• When making a purchase at a store, let your child pay and then count the change to see if they were given the correct amount.
• Play a board game, such as:
  • “Exact Change”—an educational money board game that focuses on creating exact change, or
  • “Canadian Monopoly”—a game that teaches children important lessons in managing money.
• Ask your child to design a new Canadian coin (e.g. a $3.00 or $5.00 coin).
• Set up a real lemonade stand.

WEBSITES:

• Visit other sites to get more practise counting Canadian coins.
  • http://www.mathsisfun.com/money/money-master.html
  • http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/cr.cgi?A1=s&A14=medium&country[can].x=84&country[can].y=35
  • http://www.softschools.com/math/money/games/