TOPIC:

Spending versus Saving Money

RESOURCES NEEDED:

A Copy of the book Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock by Shelia Bair. Albert Whitman & Company, 2006. Available at Indigo, or Amazon

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:

It is important to start at an early age to teach kids how to manage money and be financially responsible. Kids need to learn how to make wise spending choices. This book introduces kids to saving money and how it can grow the longer you leave it. In the book, Twin brothers, called Rock and Brock, accept a savings challenge proposed by their grandfather. For ten straight weeks he will give them each one dollar. But there is a catch! For each dollar they save, he will match it. If they spend it, they get nothing.

THE ACTIVITY:

• Discuss with your child the benefits of spending money versus saving it.
• Tell them you are going to read a book together about spending and saving money.
• Ask your child how Rock and Brock felt at the beginning of the book compared to how they both felt at the end of the book.
• Ask your child which character they are most like, Rock or Brock. Why?

FOLLOW UP IDEAS:

• Start a savings challenge with your child, similar to the one in the book, and see how much they can save in ten weeks.
• Give your child a piggy bank so they have a place to save their money.
• Open a savings account for your child so they can see how their money can grow when they put it in a bank.

WEBSITES:

• http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/consumers/lifeevents/teachchild/teachSave-eng.asp
  Teaching Your Children How to Save. Government of Canada web site.
• http://www.moneysense.ca/2011/04/18/teaching-children-to-save-money/
  Canada’s Personal Finance website -Teaching children to save money.
• http://canadianbudgetbinder.com/2012/02/03/should-parents-teach-their-children-about-money/
  Canadian Budget Binder website.