In these days of credit and debit cards, children don’t handle actual money very often, yet counting coin and paper money is still in their classroom curriculum, as well as in the real world.
To help students with this problem, teachers and parents can use this money counting game that incoporates adding, subtracting, decimals, and making change using coins and dollars.
COLLECT CASH
Give each pair of students a sandwich bag of play money that contains a $5 bill, 9 ones, a variety of all coins, and two number cubes. They will also need a piece of paper and a pencil. The goal is to be the first to collect $5 cash through adding amounts rolled on the number cubes with each turn.
Students will take turns following this procedure:
1. Roll the two number cubes.
2. Make the largest number possible with the two numbers showing on the cubes (example: roll a 6 and a 2…the number is 62); however, one strategy used to win is that an opponent should not point out to his or her friend if the number is recorded as 26!).
3. Write down $0.62 on the paper and collect that amount in coins.
4. The opponent will do the same with the numbers they roll.
5. At each turn, students will roll the dice again and then add the new amount to the previously recorded amount.
6. After each new sum, students are to exchange previously collected money for the smallest amount of paper and coin money possible.
(For example: If the first player rolled a 4 and 2 on the next turn, they would write down $0.42 under the original amount of $0.62, add .42 in coins to their first .62 collected, and add the two to equal a new sum of $1.04. That student would then trade all of their coins for a paper dollar bill and 4 cents.
7. Players will continue taking turns until one of them wins by being the first to reach at least $5.00
If the kids are more advanced with adding, you could increase the game to “Collect $10″ or more, or take the game to the next level and begin with $5.00 so students have practice counting back change until they get to $0.
Parents could even use real cash in the game, or extend it to collecting allowances in a piggy bank each week.