Money Unit for Elementary

This is our last week of school before we take our Spring Break.  We're finishing up a unit on Money and this is some of what we've covered:

• We found a very cool online site at www.minyonland.com.  It teaches B about spending, saving, and investing by way of some really fun games and strategies.
• Aside from that we've worked through the Kids Money Book that I found at our library (but can't locate on Amazon to link to).  It's taken him into big ideas like inflation and recession as well as more easily grasped topics like credit and ATM's.   It also covered the history of money.
• I printed out some blank checks and a register and gave him bills to pay.
• We're reading Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen aloud and learning about some fantastic economic principles as we go.  I highly suggest it for 3rd grade and up.
• Tomorrow we'll toss in some geography and highlight what other countries call their money.
• Everyday, he has the opportunity to "earn" money as we completes his school tasks...about $10 a day. At the end of each week I've given him a couple bills to pay, had him save 10%, give 10% and then I set up a little "store" that he can choose to shop from or save his money, or give more.  The giving money will turn into actual cash and be given away for real this week. The second week, I also gave him the option to borrow money if there was something he really wanted to buy, but the credit card bill would come the following week.  He chose not to overspend or borrow.  That's my boy!
• We set up a grocery store and I had him attempt to guess what the prices for each item would be (Mountain Dew was worth $5 to him!).  Then he practiced making change with his brothers.  
• Naturally, we've done many, many money word problems.  
• We're finding verses in Proverbs that talk about money and think through their principles before he copies them down and illustrates them.  
• He is mastering some vocabulary such as counterfeit, value, currency, money, and denomination.  
• This week he is writing a "how to" essay entitled "How to Save Money to buy the Lego Star Wars Death Star."  I'm using his interests to help build up his weaknesses.  Having him write anything is a challenge.  But he's been wishing he could buy the Death Star for a couple years now so he's inspired.  Last week we did a graphic organizer of his ideas and this week he's doing the writing.  

It's been a good study and while I'm a little tired of picking up all the play money laying around I think that B really has a grasp on what good stewardship looks like and I see him putting his knowledge into practice.