Teaching kids about money early on can set them up for a lifetime of good financial habits.
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and practice smart, informed ways of making decisions about money. It’s an important set of skills for any adult and it’s never too early to start teaching our kids how to save, budget, invest, and more. By the time kids reach seven years old, many of their habits around spending are already formed.
Learning about money is a great way to begin exploring concepts like basic math, personal responsibility, and setting goals for early learners. For older kids, it can help start conversations around the types of things or experiences we value. Whether it’s doing household chores in exchange for an allowance, starting up a piggy bank or savings account, or by helping budget your next family vacation, kids gain invaluable skills through an early understanding of money.
Check out the resources below to help develop your kids’ financial awareness, from smart spending habits to long-term saving savvy.
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Learn About Financial Literacy
Bank & Money Field Trip
Grades PreK-K
Penny and the KidVision VPK Kids visit SunTrust Bank and explore a real money collection. They learn how to identify money, how to count money, how much money is worth, and how to manage a bank account. Join them and help to count all the money!
3 Questions for Teaching Young Kids About Money
Grades PreK-3
Having open, regular conversations now helps our children grow in their understanding of money for the future. Here are three questions to think about when teaching kids about money.
Raising Kids to Be Smart About Money
Grades PreK-3
It’s never too early to start teaching your kids about how to be financially savvy. Try these kid-approved strategies to help teach your little ones to be smart about money.
Money Moments: Financial Education
Grades 3-8
Money plays an important role in many of life’s big moments. From your first savings account all the way to retirement—these events mark new chapters in our lives. KSPS and the Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU) teamed up to share how we can all handle these big moments with financial savvy.
NOVA Labs | Financial Lab
Grades 6-12
In this collection of videos adapted from the NOVA Financial Lab, examine the behaviors and decisions that influence how money is spent, how you can increase or stall progress toward financial well-being, and investigate how investments and debts can affect net worth.
Activities, Crafts & More
Rosie’s Rules Slime Store
Grades PreK-K
Make slime for customers in Rosie’s Slime Shop! Spend money to buy supplies and earn coins each time you sell your slime.
Precious Piggy Bank
Grades PreK-2
Teach your child about money and saving with this cute piggy bank craft for kids.
Mega Mall Game | Peg + Cat
Grades K-2
Peg is taking a trip to the mall and needs your help to pick out items for her list based on requested shape and color attributes. After finding the right objects, practice money skills by adding together the cost of the items and paying the correct amount at the register.
Guess the Coins
Grades K-3
These money games, played with pocket change, are brain-teasing ways to pass the time while waiting at a restaurant, in the doctor’s office, or taking a long ride!
Lights, Camera, Budget! | A Personal Finance Game
Grades 6-12
Lights, Camera, Budget! is an online game designed to help students learn, study, and review financial literacy topics while also practicing their budgeting skills. In the game, students are positioned as movie producers who have been given $100 million to produce a movie. To get the movie produced, they must prove they have good personal finance skills to keep their budget on track.