Financial practices have been a good topic you can discuss with your family, especially when you’re with children. As young as they are, we make sure they know the basics of handling money before they grow to make foul financial decisions. Being an educator, I saw how my students spend money based on trends and influence on the internet. That’s why making financial literacy fun and educational for kids can be a problem, especially when they become temperamental and spoiled with their ways.
As I went through my browser for my lesson, I saw a website with a variety of online games related to money management; which is a bit difficult for kids to get interested in my opinion. The website has many types of online games related to entrepreneurial, business, and even money tips that most children can easily play and understand. The best part is the games are free. At first, I was hesitant to introduce the games to the students because I didn’t want them to get stuck in playing it the whole time. But with the right strategy and proper time management, I was able to use the games in my class as a reinforcement and fun activity for the children.
Let me share the games I tried that I truly enjoy playing…and you can recommend them to your kids as well.
Cash Back
Imagine you own a grocery business, and you’re handling the cash register. How you can teach your kids how to return to change. Here at Cash Back, kids will learn basic counting by knowing to give change to customers like a cashier. You can play this with your toddlers who want to expand their counting skills at home.
Idle Money Tree
If you want to keep your children company while doing home errands, this game is for your kids with less attention span. Idle Money Tree is an idle clicker game that aims to answer the question “Does money grow on trees?” in a way that will satisfy toy-wanting children the world over while perhaps annoying more than a few parents. The game requires a fast-clicking response by clicking the money bags before they fall into the tree. The more you click, the more you earn. That’s simple.
The Casagrandes Mercado Mayhem
Remember The Casagrandes from Nickelodeon? This kids’ show reminds me of every Latin family I know who’s making a living through their small grocery store. You can now experience how to run your store just like Bobby through this simulation game where you operate the grocery store like early stores. Rather than customers grabbing their groceries you pick them out for them like having your shopper Ronnie Anne. This game was popular with Loud House fans out there, and it became a hit for my students as well.
Treehouse Trouble
For your pre-teen students who are into more adventure games, Hero Elementary Treehouse Trouble is a simple physics puzzle video game that encourages recycling. The game will take you to different houses where challenges await. Your task is to build a stable land-off for the roof to stand on. It’s like building your strong house by putting the proper shapes. Plus, you will also get to learn how to recycle and care for the environment.
Counting Money
Integrating addition to kids’ everyday tasks is one of the basic mathematical skills they need to learn. It also involves counting and identifying numbers for children. Counting Money is my favorite game on the website because it feels like you’re shopping in a toy store and you have loads of money to buy. This game has money-counting tasks, featuring the U.S. Dollar and American coins, and is a good help for students who have basic counting difficulties. They learn how to count while playing the game and build a simulation where they look like they’re paying for a toy.
After weeks of playing the games on the website, I noticed how my students responded well to the tasks and challenges. You can also integrate the games into your lesson making it a fun activity for them to learn better. This became a good habit for students to understand money management and appreciate the proper use of resources in real life.
You can access the games through the www.mortgagecalculator.org and enjoy exploring their 100+ games related to real estate, financial management, restaurant/grocery simulation games, and more. Have fun doing money games with your family and friends.
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