16 cents minus 7 cents = what?
Can you count change without using a computer cash register? If so, you may want to read this…NOW.
My sisters and I learned how to make change even before we were tall enough to reach the cash register at our family’s store. We remember our great aunt counting the money the store took in that day. We would be watching the Wonderful World Of Color while she sat at the table. She would count the cash, then count it again. If it didn't match, she would grumble and count it again, this time in aggravated Polish. We learned to count in Polish this way, though we were more interested in watching TV.
Today, we all are accustomed to pulling out our plastic credit cards. Unfortunately, our grandchildren aren't faced with the enjoyment of the tactile and mental challenge of handling cash.
Here are some simple and fun games you can play with your grandkids to help them with math and learning how to count money:
From simple to harder:
1). Place a bunch of money (including change) on the table and have the child organize them by denomination. Teach them to stack the bills with the fronts all facing up and each bill facing in the same direction (We learned this from our Great Aunt). This is common for bank tellers and retail shop owners who must take the cash to the bank.
2). From this stack, ask the child to give you exactly $7.36. Do this numerous times with different amounts. Have your grandchild ask YOU to provide them with exact money to make it more fun. You can do several rounds of back and forth.
3). A corollary to this is to ask them to give you $0.42 and then ask how many ways they can make money equal $0.42? A quarter/nickel/dime and 2 pennies, 4 dimes and two pennies, etc.
4). Now for the challenge rounds: Tell the child something costs $6.42. You give them $20. This change game is key since it teaches the child to do math in their head.
5). Now, you give them a 20-dollar bill, a 1-dollar bill, and 42 cents and ask for change. You have now taught the child that they don’t have to end up with a wallet load of change every time they pay cash for something. Both of you can think up what something costs and how either of you would pay for it with the money on the table that would require some change back.
These games don't require a calculator and teach the child to think independently, making math fun.
If you successfully make this fun, your grandchildren will be clambering to play it whenever they visit you, or you visit them.
The next time you take the child to a fast-food restaurant, ask them what bills and change they would use to pay for their order before you hand over your plastic card to the cashier.
Of course, you can start with the little ones by having them match money to value. Check out our placemat at https://www.cjcorki.com/shop , or create your own.
Lifelong learning. What memories. What could be better? Play the Money Game and find out.
So, why am I blogging about this, you may ask…
I am writing this because I was perplexed by how many young people working retail or fast food don’t know how to make change without what the computerized cash register tells them. They get completely confused when you give them $20, a $1, and 42 cents for a bill that comes to $6.42. In a somber tone, one young girl said that I gave her the wrong amount of money and was giving me my $20 back and said I gave her a $20 bill and not a $5 one.
Let’s make sure our grandkids can do better. If you have any money-counting games or ideas, we'd love to hear it in the comments.
