Actively teach children to get in the habit of saving money
Teach children to get in the habit of saving money! Target children early. Do it before they have formed bad money habits and attitudes. Do it actively. Do it repeatedly. Do it in classrooms. Do it in homes. Do it in cars. Do it everywhere and as often as you can. It does not have to be hard. In fact, it can be as easy as sharing a story or a song with children.
Did you know adult money habits form prior to age 7? University of Cambridge Study
Check out Alana Golden. Alana is the California Department of Business Oversight’s Director of Education and Oversight. She produces California’s Financial Literacy Month Blog. The blog has had over a million hits under her direction.
Alana reads with kids. She talks with them. And she gets them directly involved doing a variety of activities from coloring, to solving problems, to doing arts and crafts projects.
As far as I am concerned, the more active kids are in learning the better. According to the University of Michigan, active learning is a process whereby students engage in activities, such as reading, writing, discussion, or problem solving that promotes analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of class content.
The University of Cornell states audiences attention in lecture style teaching starts to wane after about 10 to 20 minutes of talking. I suspect with young kids in today’s point and click environment it is far less. Cornell goes on to say incorporating active learning techniques once or twice in a fifty minute learning session will increase student engagement and it also reinforces concepts and learning.
The University of Minnesota says some of the keys to active learning are being creative, inventing new strategies, adapting existing strategies, starting small, being brief, having students work in teams, etc.
What are some of your favorite strategies for teaching kids to get in the habit of saving money?
Reading and Resources
Stanford University Teaching Commons: Promoting Active Learning
7 Easy Steps to Teach Kids to Dream Big and Get in the Habit of Saving Money
Song: Get in the Habit