Money matters are important to expose learners to from an early age. There is value in counting as well as learning about coin values, but it’s easy to lose kindergartners if you simply teach money value. That’s why we’ve curated a list of 35 awesome activities to help you introduce the concept of money to your little ones.
1. Hands-On Coin Sorting
This is a Montessori-inspired lesson that has an awesome focus on sensory learning. To begin, grab five different bowls. In the middle bowl, dump a variety of coins in it. Kids can then take each coin out, compare it, and sort it into its respective bowl.
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2. Counting Money Activity
Using real money, this activity will focus on counting money and incorporate addition. The idea is to count the number of coins instead of adding up the value, as this may confuse kids this young. A great example would be counting to 10 using 10 pennies.
Learn More: Teach Mama
3. The Money Tree
This fun activity teaches kids the value of money and how different coins add up to a dollar. Use this money tree printable with real money or play money. Kids will fill in the money tree prompt with the correct coin choice to make up the total amount the money tree displays.
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4. DIY Piggy Banks
Creating a piggy bank is more of an arts and crafts activity, but it gets children to think about the concept of money and its value. You can make piggy banks out of paper cups for a cost-effective activity or purchase clay piggy banks to paint in class.
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5. Coin Toss Game
This is the classic version of Heads or Tails. Have children pair up. One kid will be dubbed heads while the other is dubbed tails. When it lands on heads or tails, the child with that designation will get one tally mark. Play to 10 and see who has more tallies.
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6. Using Letter Sounds to Sort Coins
Using printer paper, mark out the capital letters Q, D, N, and P. Give the kids real money and have them trace the letter by placing the coins on it. This will help them work on their letters and pronunciation as they say the coin that goes with its letter.
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7. Play “Shop Tender”
Playing shop is a fun game for kids to explore their creativity while learning numbers. Let your children take sticky notes and price out things around the classroom. Have other kids in the class then role-play as the shoppers and buy the items.
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8. At-Home Shopping Scavenger Hunt
Give parents and kids a take-home assignment that they’ll love! The next time they go to the grocery store, bring a list of numbers for the children to find on price tags. Ideally, use 1, 5, 10, and 25. This will familiarize them with coin values indirectly.
Learn More: Learn With Play At Home
9. Coin Pattern Sorting
There are a number of ways to sort coins, but kids can also learn patterns. In this simple activity, take a handful of coins and create the beginning of a pattern. Let the kids finish it off by choosing the right coins.
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10. Make 25 Cents
This is an easy way to teach them about money and counting. Grab a piece of paper and draw five different circles. Place a quarter in one of them and then allow students to try and come up with other combinations to make 25 cents.
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11. Muffin Tin Coin Counting
Grab Muffin tins and label them with different money amounts. In a bowl, pour a variety of coins so kids can use them to make up the different values.
Learn More: One Time Through
12. DIY Treasure Chest
This is a different spin on creating a piggy bank. You can make this more of a sensory activity by placing a treasure chest in a small sandbox. Add coins throughout the sand for kids to find. Then, they can place their treasure in their chest and learn about saving.
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13. Money Chore Chart
This is a great at-home activity that can also be used in the classroom. It teaches responsibility while learning the value of money. Choose age-appropriate responsibilities and chores to assign to kids. They will be rewarded with real or play money that can be redeemed for a prize.
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14. Money Cleaning Activity
Using safe cleaning products, let children have some sensory play by sudsing up different coins in a bucket of water. Then, they can sort them into matching piles.
Learn More: Education.com
15. The Water Drop Game
We have all tried this experiment at some point which is why we are introducing it to kindergartners! Mixing science and counting, give the kids an eye-dropper and a cup of water. How many drops of water can a penny hold? Have them count until it spills over.
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16. Printable Money Play
Print pretend money of various amounts. Give each kid a stack- ranging from $1s through $20 and let them count out different figures using combinations of notes.
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17. In-Hand Manipulation with Coins
In-hand manipulation is great for developing fine motor skills among kids. That’s why placing a number of pennies in one hand and having kids pick them up one by one with the other is a great exercise. Have them neatly place the pennies in rows for organizational learning as well.
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18. Money Balloon
For this activity, you will need to roll play money into balloons with confetti. Blow the balloons up and then allow kids to pop them. When they pop a balloon, they can count the paper money inside!
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19. Teaching About Money and Jobs
Children in kindergarten are old enough to learn how money is earned. It’s also a great opportunity for kids to learn about what their parents do to earn money. Send kids home with the task of asking their parents what they do and then reporting back to the class the following day.
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20. Money Toss
Sometimes, children just need to engage in a fun activity. Money toss can get them acquainted with coins while also giving them a chance to work on their hand-eye coordination skills. Set up a bucket or a bowl into which they can toss pennies.
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21. Teaching Foreign Currency
A fun way to learn about the world is to show kids different currencies. It’s an easy exercise, and you can use real currency or money printables. Let the kids compare and contrast to build connections between different countries’ currencies.
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22. Coin Graphing
By giving your children a handful of coins, they can identify them and then match them to the corresponding images on a printable table.
Learn More: Measured Mom
23. Collecting Coins Game
Grab a printable, dice, and a bowl full of coins. Kids will take turns rolling the dice and matching the coin to one on the board. The player with the most coins at the end of the game wins.
Learn More: Measured Mom
24. Coin Caterpillars
This fun activity has kids form caterpillars using different coins. In the end, they can add up the total! Kids can even swap out coins to create different combinations for this endlessly fun activity.
Learn More: Deceptively Educational
25. Money Eggs
Prepare for this activity by placing a few coins inside plastic eggs. After learners open an egg, instruct them to write the amount of money on the shell. Give kids five different eggs with different amounts for them to add up.
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26. Ice Cream Money Addition
Who doesn’t love ice cream? In this activity, grab construction paper and make an ice cream cone. Let kids add as many scoops as they want; with each one adding more money to the total. In the end, they have to write down the total cost of the ice cream.
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27. Floating Money Boat
This PBS activity is a favorite! Fill a bucket with water and grab some pennies and tinfoil. Create a boat from the tinfoil and see if it floats. One by one, students can add pennies until their sink ships. Afterward, they can count how many pennies it took to sink their ship.
Learn More: PBS Kids
28. Printable Wallet Play
This printable wallet allows kids to play with money. Give each child a wallet with some money inside. Allow them to role-play and spend or save it however they like.
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29. Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
Have your students price how much it costs to build a snowman. It’s a make-believe game that has them put a price on the nose/carrot, hat/scarf, and so on. Have them add up the total at the end.
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30. Robot Money Practice
Children love playing with robots. In this activity, they’re tasked with combining the right amount of money to purchase a robot of their choice.
Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
31. Money Poems
Taking a different approach to money, play around with some rhyming. Incorporate a number of these poems that teach learners about coin value. They can even try coming up with their very own money poems!
Learn More: Teach Mama
32. Cut and Paste Money Workbook
This is a great, hands-on activity. These task cards will prompt your kiddos to cut out the right coin and paste it into the section it belongs in.
Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
33. Grocery Charts
Learning the value of items is an important part of money lessons. In this charted worksheet, kids will need to match the correct amount of money to the price tag of the grocery item. All you need is a few coins and this printable.
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34. Dollar Add Up
Let’s not forget about dollar bills! These addition-focused worksheets are easy because dollar bills let children use their fingers to total the amount. Simply place several units on the left side and have them answer it on the right side.
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35. What Is This Coin?
Talking about the descriptors of a coin helps children familiarize themselves with it. In this activity, help your students write what each coin looks like in terms of color, size, and what it displays.
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