Tips and Tricks for Parents with K-5 Kiddos- Money!

By the end of second grade, children should know the names and values of the U.S. coins:

• a penny = 1 cent
• a quarter = 25 cents
• a nickel = 5 cents
• a half dollar = 50 cents
• a dime = 10 cents
• a whole (silver) dollar = 100 cents

Preschool and kindergarten are great times to begin this training. You can even teach your children this at home, in a hands-on manner. If they enter school with this knowledge they will already be ahead of the game!

By the end of third grade, children should have learned the basic equivalents:

• 20 nickels = 10 dimes = 4 quarters = 2 half dollars = 1 dollar
• 1 dime = 2 nickels
• 1 quarter = 5 nickels
• 1 half dollar = 5 dimes = 10 nickels

Other combinations, like 3 quarters = 15 nickels and 15 dimes = 6 quarters, should also be explored, although these might not be covered in class. It is a good way to extend their knowledge and make them think just a little bit harder about what they are learning, leading them to even greater comprehension.

Next come questions like:

“How many dimes have the same value as 6 quarters? …40 quarters?”

Counting piggy–banks full of coins is an excellent way to develop these skills, and kids have fun doing it!

“Making Change” is a skill that can be introduced in late first grade or early second grade, and can be mastered by fourth grade. Children should learn to make change from:

• a dime
• a quarter
• a half dollar
• one dollar
• two (... five ... ten ... twenty ... hundred ...) dollars

Questions can take the form of :

• “You have a dime. If you spend 6 cents, how much will you have left?”
• "If you want to buy something that costs 50 cents, and all you have is 47 cents, how much more do you need?”
• “If you want to buy something that costs a dollar, and all you have is 78 cents, how much more do you need?”
• “If you buy something that costs 18 cents, how much change will you get from $2.00?”
• “If you buy something that costs $1.46, how much change will you get from $2.00?”
• “If you buy something that costs $12.89, how much change will you get from a twenty dollar bill?”

Other money-related questions:

• “A roll of dimes is worth $5.00. How many dimes are in a roll?”
• “A roll of quarters contains 40 quarters. How much is the roll worth?”

Money is the best model of our base 10 (decimal) number system, and a great way to introduce kiddos to our number system early!

Come back next week for tips on how to use Pictures to help your child understand difficult mathematical concepts!