Now it’s time to bring it all together! It’s time to wrap up this month of activities to raise awareness that April is Financial Literacy Month with FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™. This blog post is a true keeper. In this activity, we’ll weave together a clever combination of several of the posts we've shared during this month. By combining these activities to create a right-sized culminating project, we not only reinforce the Financial Literacy concepts we’ve covered, we’re also putting them together for practical use in a cohesive and memorable way for kids. “Wait? THIS is Financial Literacy? How is that possible? This stuff is fun!”
2 + 9 + 19 = FUN!
Kids will apply the budget-making skills introduced in post 2 with their knowledge of supply and demand that was covered in post 9, to test their entrepreneurial knowledge from designing a winning cereal box in post 19 to put together a fun and creative presentation to attract investors to invest in their business!
If building a favorite cereal company seems too complex for younger kids, it’s easy to adapt this idea to ask “family investors” to invest in a lemonade stand instead. In both cases, begin by guiding kids to list what raw materials and funding they think they would need for their cereal company or lemonade stand. Once they sort through this past, it’s time to create and then make their pitch.
A Quick Recap
First, have kids take a look back at blog post 2 and revisit how to put together a realistic budget. Kids can model their company budget on this post, determining how much money and what supplies they’ll need to launch their cereal business or lemonade stand. They can start with a checklist of needed supplies and expenses—everything from factory space to cereal boxes or lemons to paper cups—and research ballpark costs for each item to come up with a realistic total. Remind them that time is money, too. Ask them to consider how much work and labor it will take to deliver their company’s results.
Kids will take a cue from blog post 9 to determine pricing for their cereal or lemonade. Focus especially on the “Let’s Make a Deal” section. Then glance back at the weekend reading recommendations in post 20 and recall Pet and Cat’s lemonade stand pricing dilemma to inform their own pricing strategies.
Finally, dive back into blog post 19 for a recap of the basics of product design and marketing and some ideas to kickstart their own cereal brainstorming session. And then reread post 22 for a reminder of social responsibility and how business owners can balance the three Ps of people, planet and profit. Younger kids can focus on creating a sign and pricing strategy that is sure to sweeten their appeal.
Ready, Set, (Rehearse, Revise—and then) Present!
Now they need to put it all together in a compelling and convincing presentation. Suggest that kids make signs, share their budget worksheet, and even make a video to do their presentation. If relatives live elsewhere, kids can make their pitches using a mobile device.
Many older students are quite adept at using presentation software like PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi and more. Pitches should answer the 5Ws and H: who, what, where, when, why and how. They should discuss competitor cereal products or similar lemonade stands they’ve encountered and explain why their product or approach is special, unique, will appeal to the market, and stand out. By asking kids, “What makes your cereal or lemonade stand better AND different?” you can encourage them to objectively consider and weigh the pros and cons of their idea.
Encourage kids to “teach you a thing or two” as they practice both their Financial Literacy skills and presentation skills. Make it polished and professional. One great way to help kids “see” how their presentation looks is to video a dry run. By hiding behind your phone, kids are bound to be more relaxed. They are also more likely to see where their pitch might need to be adjusted. Remind your kids that it is important to rehearse and revise their presentation before the big pitch. Then ready… set… PITCH!
Weekend Reading Becomes Great Any-Day Reads!
Because this feature was such a big hit over this past month, we're adapting it as we wrap up these 30 Financial Literacy posts to showcase Financial Literacy Month. For our final reading recommendations, keep these delightful trade titles in mind as you spend time with your kids during transitions, commuting time, and other small pockets of reading opportunity.
Here are 4 different story books and chapter books about Financial Literacy. Check out the library or on Amazon for these titles and more—Financial Literacy stories help bring concepts home for kids in relatable ways.
What’s NEXT?
We're also adapting our Weekend “What If…?” feature to become "What NEXT?" Now that your future cereal or lemonade mogul has made a strong pitch, what steps would they need to take next if they were fortunate enough to secure funding? The cereal entrepreneurs can research how they would actually make their cereal—looking up how and where factories produce cereal, what volume of production they would need to be profitable, and examine test cases of actual cereal companies in the news. Lemonade stand operators can think about possible locations or events for their lemonade stand and start taking steps to put these actions into practice.
Visit Us One More Day in April
Check back tomorrow for the final day of Financial Literacy Month as we recap everything we covered this April and sum up what we’ve shared during this time about the importance of including Financial Literacy activities at home, at school, and on the go. Financial Literacy is part of everything we do, adds value, and helps us all to connect the dots between priorities, goals, and results.
FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is an ideal FREE resource for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Please click below to download any of the 29 sections of the program.