Pocket 2 – It’s Wise to Save, Says Auntie

Posted on by Team Milo

Milo meets his auntie and talks to her about his money. She advises him that saving would be the best plan, she points out to him that he has an exciting visit to the zoo and will appreciate having some money to spend in the gift shop when he’s there. The pull out activity in the pocket is an imaginary savings book for a bank Milo can use. It shows how savings are recorded as money coming in, money going out and how much is left.

This would be a great time to talk to the children about their understanding of saving money. Ask who has something to save their money in, maybe a piggy bank or something similar. Ask what money they save, pocket money, gifts etc. Ask if they have ever saved for something in particular, a new toy or a day out/holiday.

You could also talk about the children’s experience of banks, if they know what they are and have ever been in one. Some children may even have a savings account to tell the others about. Some may know that parents use them. Some may know about taking money out via the cash machine. This could be an opportunity to talk to the children about how money gets into the bank in order for parents to be able to take it out.

Older children may also be able to talk more about why it is a good idea to have money in a bank or building society. Discussing how people keep their money safe and why it is better somewhere secure than kept at home. You could talk about how the children look after their money when they have it, perhaps in a purse or wallet, or in a piggy bank at home. Some may ask parents to look after it. You could use this to show the similarity with asking people in a bank or such like to look after our money for us.

Other activities:

  • More small group work to further familiarise children with coins. Hide and reveal coins – see who is first to guess what the coin is. One child describing a coin which their partner can’t see. Partner has to find the correct coin from the play money.
  • Role play bank. You could create a ‘bank’ as a role play area and have children taking play coins along to deposit in the bank. They could have a play bank book to keep a track of their deposits.
  • Design a bank book
  • Saving investigation … How much is in Milo’s Piggy bank? Investigate what coins could be in Milo’s piggy bank if he has 3 coins in there, or 5 or other amounts depending on the ability of the child. You could use play coins and use a box or envelope as a piggy bank and have children practically placing five coins in and then counting them up. This would be a great activity to learn systematic recording, asking children how they can make sure they find all the possibilities … (for 3 coins) model starting with 1p, 1p and 1p as the lowest amount. What would come next … 1p, 1p and 2p. What next? 1p, 2p and 2p etc etc.

Resources:

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