Week 1: Understanding Money & Its Value

🔍 Focus: What money is, where it comes from, and how it's used.

Day 1: What is Money?

🔹 Show & Explain Money – Introduce real coins and bills, explaining that money is used to buy things. Discuss how each note or coin has different values. Show digital money on a phone app (if applicable).

🔹 How People Earn Money – Talk about jobs and businesses. Show examples like teachers, shopkeepers, and online work. Ask: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

🔹 Play "Store Game" – Set up a mini-store at home with small toys or snacks. Give pretend money and let your child "buy" items, reinforcing the concept of spending.

Day 2: Identifying Money

🔹 Recognizing Coins & Notes – Lay out different coins and notes, asking them to name them. Explain size, color, and value differences. Let them trace or color pictures of money.

🔹 Play "Match the Price" – Place price tags on items (e.g., toy = $2, snack = $1). Give them the correct amount of pretend money to match with each item.

🔹 World Currencies – Show images of money from different countries (Google or travel souvenirs). Discuss how different places have different money.

Day 3: Needs vs Wants

🔹 Discussion Game – Show pictures of items (toys, food, clothes) and ask: "Is this a need or a want?" Let them explain their answers.

🔹 Sorting Activity – Cut out magazine pictures or print images and have them sort into two piles: "Needs" (food, water, home) and "Wants" (candy, games, fancy shoes).

🔹 Spending Choices – Give them a pretend $10 budget and a list of items with prices. Let them decide what to buy and explain their reasoning.

Day 4: Earning Money

🔹 How People Earn – Discuss different jobs and show related pictures. Role-play by pretending to be different workers (doctor, chef, teacher).

🔹 Earn Play Money – Set up simple chores (putting toys away = $1, wiping table = $1). Give them play money to "earn" through these tasks.

🔹 What Do You Want to Be? – Let them draw a picture of their dream job and explain why they chose it.

Day 5: What Can You Buy?

🔹 Big vs Small Purchases – Show examples of small (candy) vs. big (bicycle) purchases. Ask: "Which takes longer to save for?"

🔹 $5 vs $50 Game – Give them two scenarios: "If you had $5, what would you buy?" vs. "$50, what would you buy?" Let them compare choices.

🔹 Pretend Store – Role-play as a cashier and customer again, but introduce "change" when paying. Teach how to count leftover money.

Day 6: The History of Money

🔹 Bartering Simulation – Give them a toy and ask them to trade it for another toy. Explain that before money, people traded goods instead.

🔹 Gold & Shells as Money – Show images of old forms of money (gold coins, shells, beads). Discuss how people used to pay before paper money existed.

🔹 Story Time – Read a short story or watch a video on how money evolved from trade to coins to digital payments.

Day 7: Money in Daily Life

🔹 Real-World Observation – Take them to a store and show how you pay with cash or a card. Let them help count money for small purchases.

🔹 Receipt Breakdown – Show them a receipt and explain prices, tax, and total cost. Ask them to find the most expensive and cheapest items.

🔹 Using Money Themselves – Give them a few coins and let them buy something small (a candy or sticker) to practice real spending.

**Week 2: Saving & Budgeting

🔍 Focus: The importance of saving money and planning spending.**

Day 8: Why Save Money?

🔹 Story Time – Read a short book (like The Three Little Pigs). Ask: "What happens when you don’t prepare?" Relate it to saving money.

🔹 Why Save? – Show two people: one who saves for a bike vs. one who spends all their money on candy. Ask which person can buy the bike.

🔹 Start a Savings Jar – Give them a jar for saving coins toward something they want.

Day 9: The 3 Jars Method (Spend, Save, Give)

🔹 Set Up 3 Jars – Label jars "Spend," "Save," and "Give." Explain each category.

🔹 Money Sorting Activity – Give them $3 in play money and let them decide how much to put in each jar.

🔹 Why Give? – Talk about charities and how giving helps others. Let them pick a small way to give (e.g., donating to a cause or buying food for someone in need).

Day 10: Setting a Savings Goal

🔹 Choose a Goal – Ask them to pick something they want (toy, book, trip). Write down how much it costs.

🔹 Plan to Save – Discuss ways to save (e.g., saving $1 each day).

🔹 Savings Tracker – Make a simple chart where they can color in each dollar saved.

Day 11: Budgeting Basics

🔹 $10 Shopping Challenge – Give them pretend $10 and a shopping list with prices. Let them plan what they can buy.

🔹 Why We Can't Buy Everything – Discuss choices people make when they don’t have unlimited money.

🔹 Spending Priorities – Ask: "What happens if you spend all your money on candy? Can you buy lunch?"

Day 12: Delayed Gratification

🔹 Marshmallow Test – Offer 1 marshmallow now or 2 if they wait 10 minutes. Explain that saving money works the same way.

🔹 Big vs. Small Rewards – Give examples of spending now vs. saving for something better.

🔹 Long-Term Goals – Show how waiting can help them get something even better later.

Day 13: Real-Life Budgeting

🔹 $5 Store Challenge – Give them real money and let them choose what to buy while staying within budget.

🔹 Making Choices – After they buy, ask: "Was this the best way to spend your money?"

🔹 Mistake Learning – If they regret a choice, discuss what they would do differently next time.

Day 14: Saving vs. Spending Game

🔹 Spend $5 Now or Save for $10 Later? – Let them decide between an immediate small reward vs. a bigger future reward.

🔹 Bonus for Saving – If they choose to save, add a small bonus to their savings jar as an incentive.

🔹 Reflect on Decisions – Ask: "How did it feel to save instead of spending?"

**Week 3: Smart Spending & Avoiding Waste

🔍 Focus: How to make smart choices with money.**

Day 15: Comparing Prices

🔹 Store Price Hunt – Show two similar items (e.g., two brands of snacks) with different prices. Ask which is cheaper and why.

🔹 Coupon & Discount Game – Show how discounts work. Pretend to give them $5, then a "coupon" that lowers the price. Let them see how they can save money.

🔹 Expensive vs. Cheap – Show a branded and non-branded item (e.g., Nike vs. no-brand shoes). Ask: "Is the expensive one always better?"

Day 16: Quality vs. Quantity

🔹 Durability Test – Show a sturdy vs. flimsy toy/item. Ask: "Which lasts longer?" Teach that sometimes spending more is smarter.

🔹 "Would You Rather?" Game – Ask: "Would you rather buy one high-quality toy or three cheap ones that break?"

🔹 Money Experiment – Give them $5. Let them buy a cheap item one day and see how long it lasts vs. waiting for something better.

Day 17: The Hidden Costs of Spending

🔹 What’s in the Price? – Explain how a $10 toy isn't just the material—it includes design, shipping, branding, etc.

🔹 Subscription Trap – Show how paying $5/month for a game seems cheap, but in a year it’s $60! Ask if it’s still a good deal.

🔹 Wants That Become Wastes – Ask: "Have you ever bought a toy you stopped playing with fast?" Discuss impulse buying.

Day 18: Impulse Buying vs. Planned Buying

🔹 Impulse vs. Plan Game – Show a toy and ask: "Do you want this right now?" Then, show a bigger goal and compare.

🔹 The 24-Hour Rule – Teach them to wait a day before buying something they want. Let them write it down and check if they still want it tomorrow.

🔹 Make a Shopping List – Before going to the store, write down what to buy. Stick to the list and avoid extra spending.

Day 19: Shopping on a Budget

🔹 Grocery Budget Challenge – Give them $10 and let them help pick food items within budget.

🔹 Price per Unit Lesson – Show how a big bottle of juice costs more upfront but is cheaper per cup than small packs.

🔹 Cash vs. Card – Explain how credit cards borrow money and must be paid later, while cash is instant.

Day 20: Buying Used vs. New

🔹 Secondhand vs. New – Show a new and secondhand toy. Ask: "Is the new one always better?"

🔹 Thrift Store Adventure – If possible, take them to a thrift shop and compare prices.

🔹 Fix It Instead of Buy It – Show how a small tear in clothes can be sewn instead of buying new ones.

Day 21: Avoiding Advertising Tricks

🔹 Ad Analysis – Show different toy ads and ask: "What words make you want to buy?"

🔹 Reality Check – Compare an ad vs. real product reviews. Explain that ads make things seem better than they are.

🔹 Create an Honest Ad – Let them make a funny but truthful ad for a toy they own.

**Week 4: Investing & Growing Money

🔍 Focus: Understanding generosity and making money grow.**

Day 22: Why Give Money?

🔹 Plant a "Money" Tree – Explain investing like planting a seed. Give them a real seed to take care of and watch it grow.

🔹 Toy Rental Business – Let them "rent" out a toy to a sibling or friend for play money. Teach how lending earns more.

🔹 Small Investment Challenge – If they have saved $5, suggest buying something cheap (like stickers) to resell for more.

Day 23: How Businesses Make Moneye

🔹 Mini Lemonade Stand – Set up a simple lemonade or snack stand at home. Teach how selling makes a profit.

🔹 Profit vs. Loss – If lemonade costs $3 to make and sells for $5, ask how much they earn.

🔹 Watch a Kid Entrepreneur Video – Show real kids who started small businesses. Ask what they could sell.

Day 24: Investing Game

🔹 Give him $2 play money.

🔹 Offer him a choice: Keep it or "invest" it to get $3 tomorrow.

🔹 Show how investing grows money over time.

Day 25: The Power of Coins

🔹 Let him collect coins & guess total value.

🔹 Explain how small savings add up.

🔹 Count his savings jar together.

Day 26: "Be the Boss" Game

🔹 Let him "run" a pretend toy store.

🔹 He must decide prices, costs & profits.

🔹 Discuss why businesses need to plan money wisely.

Day 27: "Be the Boss" Game

🔹 What Was the Most Fun? – Ask what they enjoyed learning the most.

🔹 Future Money Goals – Let them draw their dream house, job, or business. Ask how they’ll save or invest to get there.

🔹 Create a Money Pledge – Write down simple money rules: "I will save before I spend," "I will wait before buying," etc.

💡 Final Thoughts Keep it fun & hands-on (kids learn by doing!). Reward smart choices with praise or small bonuses. Let him handle real money sometimes (buy a snack, count change). Let me know if you want to tweak anything! 😊