Teaching money to your students can be difficult, and many can find the concept of different coin values and adding them up quite challenging. The key to finding success in teaching money math is making sure your students have lots of fun while learning! We have gathered 20 fun money games and activities to ensure your students enjoy their coin-counting practice and can gain confidence in this essential life skill.
1. Sing a Fun Coin Song
Start out your next money math lesson with this fun song to recap and make sure that students all know what each coin and note looks like and what their values are.
Learn More: Math Notes with Rocko
2. Use These Counting Clip Cards
These super printable coin counting cards have combinations of the same or mixed coins. Students much add up the value of the coins and then clip a peg onto the correct answer at the bottom of the card.
Learn More: Life Over C’s
3. Create a Coin Caterpillar
These coin caterpillars are a creative and fun way to teach counting money to your students. Students could make up their own mix of coins or grab a handful of mixed coins to create their caterpillar. They must then add up how much their caterpillar is worth in total.
Learn More: Primarily Speaking
4. Grab, Count, and Compare
This amazing printable worksheet is a super activity to practice counting money. Students grab a handful of coins and add up the total value. They repeat this process and then compare the two amounts and complete the sentence at the bottom of the sheet.
Learn More: A K Teacher Life
5. Get Active With a Coin Counting Brain Break
This video is a super brain break to use with your students at any point throughout the day. Students can count the money on the screen and then do an exercise that they think corresponds to the correct answer. This is a super way to engage students and get them moving!
Learn More: Kid Fitness Challenge
6. Check How Much Money Is In a Piggy Bank
This cute piggy bank display is an excellent activity for counting money. Students can add up how much is in each piggy bank and you can add the amounts to the display with them. Keep the collection up in your class for your students to constantly reference.
Learn More: Bright Concepts 4 Teachers
7. Play a Game With Some Money Dice
Create these money dice by covering wooden cubes or by building a 3-D net and then sticking different coins on each side. Sort your students into teams and let them roll the dice and race to see which team can add up their coins quickest for a point.
Learn More: A Love 4 Teaching
8. Play a Game of Kaboom
This hands-on counting money game is a variation of the much-loved classic Kaboom! Use hot glue to stick different coins to lollipop sticks but save a few sticks to write Kaboom on. Students take turns pulling sticks and adding up the coins; keeping the stick if they get the answer correct. If they pull a Kaboom stick, they must put all their sticks back!
Learn More: Jillian Starr Teaching
9. DIY Dominoes
Print some coins onto a piece of paper and then cut them out. Create these domino sticks by writing an amount of money on one side and then sticking corresponding coins on the end of a different stick. Students then play to match their sticks to a corresponding stick.
Learn More: Just Cara Caroll
10. Online Coin Counting Game
This interactive game is great for getting students engaged with money math concepts. Students have to move coins onto the counter to pay for the candy. The game has three difficulty levels that are suited to a variety of age levels and abilities.
Learn More: Room Recess
11. Counting Money Clip Board
Print coins onto paper and then cut them out and stick them onto pegs. Write an amount of money at the top of a lollipop stick and students can then clip different pegs on the sticks that add up to that amount. This is a fun activity that you can use with your students over and over again.
Learn More: Views From a Step Stool
12. Try Skip Counting Coins
Combine two essential math skills in this activity; counting money and skip counting. Write an amount on the left-hand side- making sure it’s a multiple of the coin you would like students to count. Then, encourage students to count in multiples (i.e. 5, 10, 15) until they reach the target amount.
Learn More: The OT Tool Box
13. Count Out Equivalent Amounts
This coin-counting activity encourages students to calculate equivalent money amounts to match amounts on various cards. A cupcake tray is a perfect way to keep this activity organized!
Learn More: A Pinch of Kinder
14. Play This Hands-On Money Counting Game
This printable money game is the perfect way for students to practice counting money. They’ll use the spinner on the side of the board to determine how much they need to add to the piggy bank. If students land on the hammer three times, they can “break” the bank and count the total.
Learn More: Thrifty Home Schoolers
15. Complete a Cut and Paste Worksheet
This super money worksheet is fantastic for younger learners as they can cut and paste coins to corresponding amounts to build their skill in counting coins.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
16. Count Out the Right Amount
Write amounts on the bottom of cupcake cases and set them up in a baking tin. Students can then count coins into each case to make up the correct amount.
Learn More: Teaching Second Grade
17. Play Money War
This super game is engaging and fun for students of any age. Students have a pile of game cards each and must face off with another student. The student with the higher amount wins and takes the cards.
Learn More: Teaching Mama
18. Count Four Different Ways
These task cards encourage students to find four different ways to make the target amount on the worksheet. This activity is free to print and super simple to set up.
Learn More: Fantastic Fun and Learning
19. Work Through This Amazing Activity Pack
The different activities included herein ensure that you are covering multiple money concepts with your class- including coin counting! The worksheets are simple to follow and super engaging for students.
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
20. Count Coins Into Eggs
This cute idea is perfect if you’re teaching students how to count money around Easter. Write amounts on plastic eggs and let your students fill the eggs with the correct value of coins.
Learn More: Teaching With Nancy
Anti-Bullying Activities For The Classroom: Strategies For Awareness And Prevention