All Together Now!

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.

The Outcomes of Income Tax!

Happy TAX DAY!

Today, in honor of the 15th day of Financial Literacy Month, which falls on tax day, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is focused on helping kids understand what taxes are and how they benefit the community. While you might be grumbling about your own debt to Uncle Sam, this is a great opportunity to introduce kids to the ins and outs of income tax.

A lot of kids probably don’t know much about taxes beyond hearing adults joke or complain about them. But that ignores the many important benefits of taxes. First, explain to kids that taxes are fees that a government entity collects from individuals or companies in order to fund public works and services. (Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxes.asp) Some types of taxes are:

• income tax - a tax on a person’s earnings

• corporate tax – a tax on a company’s profits collected by the government

• sales tax - a tax on goods and services

• property tax – a tax on the value of land and property

• estate tax – a tax on property and assets upon a person’s death

• tariff – a tax on imported goods

Explain to kids that if they have probably paid taxes themselves in the form of sales tax if they’ve ever bought candy or a new toy at the store. Tell them that taxes help us pay for many important things, including public schools, roads, bridges, playgrounds, national parks, and other services that benefit everyone in a community. Taxes also pay for the military, police, fire fighters, and other services and agencies that work to protect us. Without taxes, the government could not run.

Prompt a discussion by asking kids: What else can you think of that is paid for by taxes?

Six Tax Facts!

Share a few of these quick tax facts during class or at the dinner table and you’ll come across as quite knowledgeable when it comes to taxes.

1. When someone receives a paycheck, a certain percentage is taken out (or deducted) and given to the government in the form of state and federal taxes. The percentage depending on how much money you earn and where you live.

2. Some states like Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have a flat income tax. With a flat income tax, everyone pays the same percent of their income.

3. Other states have a progressive tax. From A to Z, Alabama and California to West Virginia and Wisconsin, most states have a progressive income tax. With a progressive income tax, the percentage people pay depends on how much money they make.

4. The United States federal income taxes are another example of progressive taxes, based on income.

5. State income taxes are determined at a state level. Did you know that seven states have no state income tax? That’s right: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming have no state income tax.

6. Sales tax is a tax that states charge on certain items and this varies from state to state. For example, there is no tax on clothing in Pennsylvania. Several states—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon—don’t have state sales taxes (Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxes.asp) at all. Each state determines the amount of its sales tax and decides what items are taxed and what items are not taxed. Most often, items considered to be luxury items are the first to be taxed.

 Getting Kids “on Board!”

Board games are a great way for kids to “experience” life events like taxes, with only minimal consequences. In the board game Monopoly, for example, a player who lands on the Income Tax square has to cough up $200 or 10% of whatever she’s accumulated in the game so far. The player has to make her decision before adding up her assets, so it pays—literally—to have a good idea of how much you have before landing on that square.

Life isn’t exactly a game of Monopoly, but it’s a good idea to keep a very close eye on what you make and spend in the real world as well. If you have the board game on hand at home or at school, it’s a great opportunity to break it out for a game—and some very teachable moments. Speaking of life, another great game is called The Game of LIFE. Both games are available on Amazon and can likely be found at a local community center or library. These games will help kids grasp the real-world nature of taxes and life’s financial surprises.

Tax Your Kids?!

One of the clearest ways to drive home the point and benefit of taxes and to demonstrate the positive effect taxes are designed to provide is by setting aside a small percentage of your kids’ stash—of some prized possession or collection—for the “greater good.” This model works equally well in a classroom setting, for the greater good of the entire class. Students can contribute some of their individually-earned points or pompoms in a class Bravo Jar to collectively garner a whole-class field trip, for example.

Income

Tax Percentage

With younger children, you might choose to collect a “family fun tax” of a portion of their candy stash to show them how taxes can work. Or, with older children who earn their own money through a babysitting job or allowance, you can set aside a certain percentage for a week or more to go toward household upkeep or to pop for that movie rental everyone’s been talking about. Everyone in the family should contribute to the collection. Explore the differences and percentages. No matter how you choose to do this, be sure your kids are in an appropriately scaled and easily attainable “tax bracket” that aligns to the example.

If this process works well, kick it up a notch and inspire older kids to set aside a smaller percentage of their earnings for a set period of time as a tax-planning reserve to help them to understand how many adults plan, save, and budget for taxes all during the year. 

Whether you keep the “taxes” you collect or give it right back to your kids in the form of cash, candy, pizza, or a movie, this process really helps kids understand how—and why—taxes are designed to work.

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Weekend What If: What If… You Were in Charge of the U.S. Mint?

It's Sunday, which means one thing—it’s time once again for some very big-picture thinking again! On Day 14 of Financial Literacy Month, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ introduces a new round of “What if…?” This time kids will imagine they are in charge of the U. S. Mint and have many decisions to make, including designing and making money.

 You’re the Boss!

Explain to kids that today, they are going to picture themselves in charge of the biggest “money maker” we know of—The U. S. Mint. “What If You Were in Charge of the U.S. Mint?” is the leading question for this fun-filled discussion.

What do you think the person in charge of the U. S. Mint does all day?

What kids of decisions does this money boss have to make?

What happens to money once it is printed?

What could cause the Mint to run out of money?

Why is some money made of paper and other money is made of metal?

What kinds of questions would you have if you were in charge of the U. S. Mint?

 Describe It!

Older kids can actually create a simple job description for their job for the day. What kinds of education might be needed. This is a good way to c those word problems of today to a big future career.

Younger kids might not be ready for such a big description so focus on the details of designing money. Remind kids about the special characteristics of American paper currency—all the design features that make a bill unique, such as the serial number, Federal Reserve number and seal, the face of the president on the bill, the Department of Treasury seal, and so on. For an in-depth refresher, they can visit the blog post about the five-dollar bill.

Design It to Spend it—and Protect It!

All kids can step into the role of currency designer at the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Tell kids it’s their task to come up with a new bill. They should choose whatever denomination they would like—whether one that already exists, like the five- or twenty-dollar bill, or a new bill, like a seven-dollar bill. Stress that making change is trickier, though, with such denominations.

 Kids can even come up with a new name for their currency—for example, animal lovers might dream up “Zoobucks” with a specific animal on each denomination. Kids can then draw and label their designs with an explanation for each feature on the bill.

Video Inspiration

Kids stumped or not feeling those creative juices flowing? This fun video might help. The U.S. Currency Education Program video looks at the special features of U.S. currency by comparing them to five unusual creatures. What does a twenty-dollar bill have in common with an armadillo, for example? Nope, not its color. Like an armadillo’s bumpy exterior, U.S. paper currency has a distinctive rough texture. What other unexpected comparisons will you discover? This video can help guide kids in creating their new currency.

Visit Us Every Day in April 

Tune in again tomorrow as we continue Financial Literacy Month post on personal finance and economics in honor of tax day.  

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Weekend Reading—It's Not Fair and Everything Money

When it comes to money, how much is enough? And when does it pay—or cost you too much—to be generous? 

This weekend’s Weekend Reading book recommendations for Financial Literacy Month build on the previous lessons from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ about personal finance and economics. Even if you’ve not been following the blog in an in-depth manner, this activity still works like a charm to inspire young and middle-school aged readers to “get” the economics and personal finance concepts of money management, planning, sharing, and coping in a real world.

Especially appropriate for younger students, It’s Not Fair!: A Book About Having Enough by Caryn Rivadeneira, explores a young girl’s experience with money management and sharing. After much saving and planning, Roxy has finally saved enough money to buy a chemistry set, and heads off to the store to make her big purchase. On her way to the store Roxy encounters a series of friends in trouble who need her help. Each time that Roxy decides instead to dip into her savings to help her friends, she continues to wonder if she will have enough money left over to buy the chemistry set she so badly wants. To see what happens, read this compelling and memorable story.

The book encourages kids to think about money and personal finance while exploring themes of friendship, generosity, and what it means to truly have enough.

Why not extend the conversation after finishing the story? Ask kids these questions to get them thinking about the big-picture issues the book taps into:

• What does Roxy’s adventure make you think about saving money?

• What do you think it mean to be generous with your money?

• Do you think it is possible to ever be too generous?

• What can happen when you’re not generous enough?

• How do we balance our financial needs with other people’s?

• What do you think it mean to have “enough” money?

Older children can examine these same topics from a nonfiction perspective with the book National Geographic Kids Everything Money: A wealth of facts, photos, and fun! by Kathy Furgang. The engaging, fact-filled book contains a ton of information and activities about money, from a timeline on how much has changed over time to “Explorer’s Corner” features on different types of money around the world. This book makes a great addition to any class or home library to showcase financial literacy facts about money.

Visit Us Every Day in April

Tune in again tomorrow as we continue Financial Literacy Month with our weekend feature “What If…” exploration that helps kids to “see” themselves is powerful positions In this weekend’s post, kids will put themselves in a key role. What if you were in charge of the U.S. Mint? is a Weekend What-If Feature that lets kids will use their knowledge of how the Bureau of Engraving and Printing designs and makes money and culminates in kids designing their very own bill!

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Little Pigs, Big Resources

I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll… teach you about resources?

Any preschooler can probably recite the story of the three little pigs. But what may not be readily apparent to any of us is that this powerful little story is also a “teaching” fairy tale as it actually provides a perfect illustration of the four types of economic resources that are critical to anyone who is seeking to learn more about financially literacy.

Continuing our focus on economics this week of Financial Literacy Month with FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™, let’s look at the role of resources in this classic story. What resources did the little pigs use? What resource—or resources—enabled them to build a bigger, stronger, and safer home?

First, as a family or class, briefly recap the story of the three little pigs. If you need a refresher, you can find a good version here.

Next, draw on the board—or designate the best artist in the family to draw on a piece of paper or on a write-on, wipe-off board—each of the following elements of the story:

The characters: three little pigs, big bad wolf

The houses: straw, wood, and brick

The destruction of the houses: Illustrate the destruction by scribbling on the homes as the wolf destroys them.

A Lesson in Being Resource-FULL

To get kids thinking about the types of resources in the tale, ask the following questions:

• Where does the straw or wood come from?

• Who harvests the straw or wood?

• How does the farmer or lumberjack gather/deliver the straw/wood?

• Who is going to build the houses?

• What tools will they use?

Finally, work together with kids to make a simple chart and group each answer into the correct category: capital resource, human resource, natural resource, or productive resource. Encourage them to list any additional resources they can think of related to the story.

What resource or resources ended up being most important?

Kids will probably answer “bricks,” which is both a natural resource and an intermediate good. But an even better answer might be a human resource—in the form of the third pig, who used his ingenuity to determine the strongest building material to keep out the big bad wolf.

What Can Your Kids Build?

Take this economic exercise further by “building upon” the concepts from Three Little Pigs. Ask kids to think about something they’d like to build and then explore different resources and materials to ensure the structure is solid. A few ideas might be a club house, tree house, puppet show stage, or even a fort in the basement. 

Visit Us Every Day in April

Tomorrow we’ll continue Financial Literacy Month with our next Weekend Reading book recommendation. This time we’ll look at It's Not Fair by Caryn Rivadeneira, which explores ideas about generosity and how much money is enough. And we’ll offer another fun suggestion for older readers. Be sure to carve out. Bit of time this weekend or as a warm-up to the week next Monday by checking out tomorrow’s blog post.

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Bigger FUTURES! Overview of the Economics Strand

In this post for Financial Literacy Month, we’ll take a look at the second of the four FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ strands—economics. What better way to help kids learn to better handle and manage money than by understanding how the system behind it works?

Easy-to-Grasp Economics, Anyone?

This program’s in-depth Economics strand covers a wealth of topics:

• Consumers and Producers

• Currency and Federal Reserve

• Goods and Services

• Scarcity

• Opportunity Cost

• Federal Government Taxes and Role of Government

• Productive Resources

• Specialization and Division of Labor

In this part of the program, a variety of section resources introduce kids to economics concepts using fun activities and familiar real-world scenarios. For example, students can examine a city council budget, consider the fairness of a trade, or look at how advancements in musical technology have impacted consumers.

Through leveled resources, students will learn the roles of consumers and producers, look at how money is used as a medium of exchange, and examine the trading process from various angles as well as gain an understanding of how goods and services are produced, consumed and exchanged.

Let’s Get Focused

As with the other strands, each section is organized around an engaging Focus Question and divided into five parts, providing a spiraled, progressive presentation of the topic. Five levels of instruction move from a basic to advanced understanding of economics topics, helping teachers “meet their students where they are.” And supplemental activities help students make cross-curricular connections with other subject areas—including math, art, writing, science, and social studies.

In and Out of the Classroom

FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is a highly adaptable and agile financial literacy program that works well in schools, classrooms, clubs, community centers and even around the dinner table. Want your kids to know more and become well-versed on economic topics in fun and easy-to-infuse ways? Just download any/all sections that appeal and pick and choose activities that connect to everyday topics in your class, group, or household. You don’t need to be a seasoned teacher to effectively incorporate these ideas in conversations, fun family exchanges, and to generally raise awareness about the power of economics.

Visit Us Every Day in April

Check back tomorrow on Day 12 of Financial Literacy Month as we look at a fun and familiar example of the four types of economic resources as we look “behind the bricks” in the classic story of The Three Little Pigs. We’ll help kids learn how to consider which resource was most important in building a strong and safe, wolf-resistant house.

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

How Resource-FULL is your sandwich?

What do you need to make a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich? Most people would probably answer “Bread, peanut butter, and jelly.” Right? Well, if you’re economist—or learning to think like one—it’s a little more complicated than that.

On Day 10 of Financial Literacy Month, kids will learn to think like budding economists with help from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™. You can use the familiar scenario of making PB&J sandwich to explain the many types of resources that go into making one simple sandwich.

First, ask kids to think about the TYPES of ingredients or resources that it takes to make even a simple sandwich. Explain that ingredients are actually resources and that there are lots of different types.

• Natural resources are materials or substances that come from nature, in this case peanuts, wheat, and fruits.

• Human resources are all the people who make a good or product, in this case, the sandwich maker as well as those who harvest the ingredients.

It gets even “stickier” as you delve into the ideas of capital resources and intermediate goods are goods produced and used to make other goods and services. There is an important difference between the two: Intermediate goods are used up in the process of producing something—for example, in bread making, flour is an intermediate good because you can only use it to make one loaf of bread. Capital resources can be used over and over—using the bread making example again, an electric mixer with a dough hook is a capital resource because you can use it again and again to make many loaves of bread.

Let’s Get Cooking!

Once you explain these four types of resources, it’s easy to apply these ideas to the PB&J example and have kids figure out what you’ll need in each resource category to make the sandwich:

Natural Resources:

• Wheat – to make bread

• Peanuts and oil to make peanut butter

• Fruit and sugar to make jelly

Human Resources:

• Sandwich maker

• Parent, student, or teacher

Capital Resources:

• Tools or machines used in production

• Examples: knife, jar, plate, spoon

Intermediate Goods:

• Goods that are used up during production

• Examples: peanut butter, bread, jelly

Break It Down

Now have kids complete their own lists of resources for another familiar scenario, such as making a pizza, selling Girl Scout cookies, putting on a show, or forming a soccer team. Tell them to be sure to break down natural resources into their simplest forms.

For example, a soccer team needs natural resources in the form of green space or a field on which to play and rubber (and other materials) to make the soccer ball, human resources in terms of a coach, team members, and even spectators, capital resources in terms of a factory to make the uniforms and soccer ball, and intermediate goods such as snacks and hydrating drinks for during and after practice, but in the case of a soccer game, these are really “full-consumed” goods since most teams devour their snacks right there on the field!

How many resources can you think of in each category? When using this activity in a classroom setting, you can add a dash of competition by dividing into small groups and challenging each team to listen to the other presentations and see if they can spot any additional resources.

Visit Us Every Day in April

Tomorrow we’ll continue Financial Literacy Month with a close look at the economics strand of the FUTURES™ program.

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Lemonade Stand Logistics

Today, on Day 9 of Financial Literacy Month with FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™, we’re talking entrepreneurship—and it tastes delicious. Ask your kids or students if they know what an entrepreneur does. Do you know any entrepreneurs? Have you ever been an entrepreneur?

If they answer “no,” tell them to think again. They might not realize that anyone who has ever had a babysitting gig, a paper route, or a lemonade stand has worked as an entrepreneur. Share examples of entrepreneurs in your neighborhood—the dry cleaner, the food truck owner, and even the candy store owner are all entrepreneurs. 

So, let’s take a closer look at what it takes—the logistics of—running a lemonade stand. What happens at a lemonade stand? Who are the different people who participate? How do you get ready to open a lemonade stand? 

1. The entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and cups to make lemonade.

2. The entrepreneur makes lemonade.

3. The entrepreneur sells lemonade.

4. The entrepreneur buys more supplies to make lemonade.

Produce It and Consume It!

Once kids grasp the concept that running a lemonade stand is like running a small business, it’s time to relate the scenario of the lemonade stand as a way to introduce the economic concepts of producers and consumers. Explain that when an entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and other supplies to make lemonade, she or he is a consumer. When the entrepreneur makes and sells lemonade, he or she is a producer. Explain that the people who buy the lemonade are also consumers.

Ask kids to make a list of examples of times they’ve acted as a consumer and times they’ve acted as a producer. Can a person or business ever be both a producer and a consumer? You can ask these questions while you’re out an about or when kids “consume” paper and paint for their next class project.

 Let’s Make a Deal!

Now that they know how a lemonade stand works, ask kids how they think they would decide what to charge for each cup of lemonade. Begin by prompting them to think about everything they need to “consume” or buy in order to make the lemonade. Ask kids how they might decide on pricing? Does their answer signal you that they’ll make a profit?

As a first step in thinking about pricing, have kids look up the cost of all the ingredients online or by asking family members what they last paid for these items at the grocery store. Remind them that lemons and sugar cost money, but they also will need many other things—materials for a sign, the stand itself, a pitcher, and cups.

Based on all these factors, ask kids to come up with a plan. How many cups need to be sold to “cover” costs? If the price is too low, the stand isn’t profitable. If the price is too high, no one is going to become a customer. Try to settle on what is a reasonable price to charge for a cup of lemonade at a lemonade stand.  Ask kids to think about how much THEY would pay for a cup of lemonade—with their own money? This is a great way to tap into the concept of fair market value. Remind your budding entrepreneurs that consumers have to want or need what you are selling much more than they want or need the dollars in their pocket.

How do producers and consumers decide on a price that meets BOTH their needs?
Ask kids logistical questions like:

• How will you make change?

• Do you need to begin with a bankroll? How much?

• What will you do if you run out of lemonade?

• What is your plan for any leftover lemonade?

• Will you have a sale to “drink up” the excess? (Or is lemonade on the menu for dinner?)

Safety First!

Who’s feeling thirsty now? If your kids want to plan a real lemonade stand, remind them that safety always comes first. Any lemonade stand should be in a safe place such as a community center, as part of a school event, or at a block party or other neighborhood gathering. Always have approval from adults first. If your kids are permitted to venture outside for their lemonade stand, an adult should always be close by even if it is in a place you know well. Besides, it’s a great photo opportunity for your budding entrepreneurs. Imagine being able to share that first business with your grown child when a real first business is launched!

Visit Us Every Day in April

Tomorrow, tune in again as we continue Financial Literacy Month with a close look at the four kinds of resources that go into a simple peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich! Hungry?

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.

Give me FIVE! What Do You Know about the Five-Dollar Bill?

Now that you have kids thinking about saving for the future, it’s a great time to find out what kids know about money—as in cash, currency, legal tender. We’re talking Benjamins (and Jeffersons, Lincolns, Hamiltons…).

 Although they likely use it—or see parents or guardians use it—every day, they probably haven’t thought much about where their money comes from or how it’s produced.

 On Day 8 of Financial Literacy Month, brought to you by FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™, we’re exploring fun facts about currency, with a special focus on the five-dollar bill.

First, ask kids what they already know about money:

• Where does money come from?

• Who makes our money?

• Who chooses the designs and why are they so fancy?

• What do the numbers and labels on a bill stand for?

• Why is some money made of paper and some money made of metal?

Then share these facts with them:

The Federal Reserve System, known as “the Fed,” is the central bank of the United States. In its role as the central bank, the Fed is a bank for other banks and also a bank for the federal government.  

Paper currency is labeled Federal Reserve Note because the value of money is backed by the federal government. This means that the paper itself is not worth the amount of money, but it means that the government agrees to “back” this amount of money.

Paper money is designed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Artists at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing choose the design for the bill and then create an engraving. The engraver carves the designs onto metal plates, which transfers the designs to paper—resulting in the paper money we see every day. The Treasury prints billions of notes each year! 

Not just anyone can be an artist for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Everyone is carefully screened. Designing and printing money requires a high security clearance. Money designs are complex—by design. The more intricate the design and printing, the less likely it is that money can be counterfeited.

Once money is printed on big sheets of special paper, the money is cut into individual bills, bundled in sets, counted, recounted, and probably counted yet again. There are lots and lots of procedures, every step along the way.  

When the money is ready to be released, it goes to the Federal Reserve System, a big set of banks for the country. The Federal Reserve figures out exactly how much currency to put into circulation. There are lots of complex factors involved in making these decisions. It’s a dangerous to an economy to release too little money or too much money. The federal reserve System also oversees all banks to be sure that everyone is following all the rules about money. 

Every single bill of every single denomination bill is labeled with a letter and number representing one of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located around the country.

The letter D stands for Denver, for example.

Learn the Art of Money-Making

 Visit the U.S. Currency Education Program’s Art Studio online to learn more about how the artists and engravers at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing put their mark on each bill. Learn what each picture, symbol, and line on a bill stands for, as well as how color and texture come into play. Then kids can take a peek at some real bills and find out how many differences they can spot!

Let’s Take a Look at a Five-Dollar Bill!

Every single part of any bill’s design is purposeful and has meaning. Every part is designed to make it as hard as possible for anyone to copy it and circulate counterfeit bills. This level of detail makes money very beautiful, too. Check out what each design on the five-dollar bill stands for. This bill was put into circulation by the Chicago Federal Reserve.

Are You a Bill Designer?

Now that you know what the parts of a bill do, why not create some money designs?! Even the youngest artists can try their hand at Bill Design. Enjoy these examples. Ask you kids to decide what denominations they’ll want in their treasury. Remind them that it’s tough to make change for a $7-bill!

Visit Us Every Day in April

Tomorrow, tune in again as we continue Financial Literacy Month with some fun and enterprising lemonade stand logistics. We’ll learn about the roles of producers and consumers and discuss how kids can be entrepreneurs with nothing but some lemons, sugar, and financial know-how.

For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.