A Jingle in Your Pocket - Not!

When I was a little girl, my dad always had a pocketful of coins.  At night he'd empty his pocket and the bureau would be filled with his change.  My mom would then steal all his quarters for her secret stash.  Sometimes I'd sort his coins or roll the coins to cash in at the bank.  Plus there was always a supply for the gumball machine!  Those were the days.

I have recently been working in second grade classrooms and am astounded that coin recognition is a real challenge. This has made me reflect on how that jingle of coins has faded away. I pay for everything with my credit card and then write one check at the end of the month.  My young adult children are teaching me how to transfer money to them using an app.  The world of money and especially coins has completely changed.  (No pun intended.)  No wonder these second graders can't distinguish a nickle from a quarter.  And don't even ask them the value of the coin if the back side of the coin is displayed.

So how do we help these little guys with an important life skill?  Despite the world of apps, electronic transfers, and online banking, our future adults need to know the true value of coins.

Of course, the easiest way for them to learn is to purposefully and repeatedly expose them to it.  I bet there are lots of parents that don't have a clue that their use of credit cards and electronic transfers is hindering their children's basic understanding of money.  Shoot, I had not even considered it until now.

Teachers all know that background knowledge is such a vital component to learning.  Parents need to be reminded that the value of that jingle in your pocket is much more than monetary value of a handful of coins. Let kids play with coins at home - sort them, count them, play grocery store, maybe even let your child earn a few coins.

Additionally, here are a few web sites that offer fun and engaging ways to learn coin recognition.

My favorite is Learning Coins by abcya.com .  It gives you the option of learning about each coin or sorting coins.  The learning option has audio.  A coin shaped guy teaches you the value to the coin, how to write its value, shows you the front and back of the coin, and compares the value to one dollar.

The sorting option is for practice.  Plus it offers hints for those that get confused by which coin is which.

Another site, EZ School - Recognize and Learn the Value of Coins, lets you drag and drop coins to match the corresponding value.  There's also a cute little "sloth" critter there to cheer you on.

Lastly, there's IXL - Coin Names, which gives the option of hearing the name of the coin, as you choose the written name of the coin from three possible answers.

So let's get some coins, real or virtual, in the hand of the wee ones.  Do you have ideas on how to grow coin recognition with little people?  Share your ideas.  We learn from each other.