Helping kids learn the value of a dollar (or 10 or 20) is easier when they can practice hands-on using play money.
With play money, including bills that can be printed for free via the Internet, children can gain many useful skills without the need to raid their parents' pocketbooks.
Little Alex P.
Keatons of the world can prep for a career in finance by wheeling and dealing with parents, teachers or friends using pretend cash.
Playing "store" is also a fun and popular way to teach kids about monetary denominations and the value of a buck.
When selecting a fake money design to use with children, parents and teachers might opt for cartoon-style money or more realistic bills.
For older children, realistic play money is usually the best option, since it is very close to the bills they will see in everyday life.
And there's no need to worry about being carted off to the slammer, because the faux cash offered by reputable Web sites is altered enough to comply with federal regulations.
Once you find a play money design you like, download and print it in color on your home printer.
Cut the bills apart and start doing business! For added durability, you might want to print the bills on cardstock or even laminate them, especially in a classroom setting.
When working with very young children, start by teaching them to identify the various denominations.
Print out several copies each of $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills.
Kids can learn which presidents are on which bills for a bonus history lesson! Toddlers and preschoolers might do best with oversized play money, as it can be easier for little hands to hold.
Children who are a little older can begin to add and subtract with the help of fake money.
Consider setting up a pretend store with items priced for "sale" at prices that match simple combinations of bills.
For example, a child can quickly learn that a $20 item can be obtained by exchanging a $20 bill, or two 10s, or four 5s or a 10 plus two 5s.
Printable play money can also be used as a replacement for bills that are missing from family board games, or in gaming tournaments or fund-raisers.
The paper can also be used as a "currency" given for chores and redeemable at a later date for real cash.
There's really no need to pay to print play bills, as they can often be found for free on the Internet.
Copyright 2009 by Kevin Savetz