cool, interactive tool for teaching kids financial literacy

Oh, friends.

How I wish I were better about teaching my kids to budget, to stay on top of finances, and to save money.

It’s not my thing.

But it should be.

It should be everyone’s thing. A basic necessity.

As I reviewed the cool, interactive tools for teaching kids about financial literacy from PwC Charitable Foundation, this became crystal clear to me.

And because April is also Financial Literacy Month–yes, it really is!— what better time to share this with you than now?

Except for our Spend, Save, and Give Jars from way back when, we have not done much in terms of teaching our kids how to save or the importance of being money smart–financially literate.

Sure, we gave our kids ways to earn money with Gem Jars as they got older, but we never really taught them how to budget. How to save. How to plan.

Or why it’s necessary.

I learned a ton from these resources on Earn Your Future Digital Lab, and I’m amazed that they’re available for anyone–any parent or teacher to use.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Cool, Interactive Tool for Teaching Kids Financial Literacy:

This whole thing may sound pretty crazy and complicated, but it’s not.  The Earn Your Future Digital Lab makes things pretty easy and straightforward once you register as a parent or teacher on the site.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a screen like this:

Register.

Register, my friend, to get the fun rolling.

Registration is simple and will only take you a minute or two for parents or teachers.

Goodness knows that we’re all so busy we hardly have time to learn one more platform, right? This one, my friends, is easy.

I promise it will take a second.

They’ve made it really easy for you to add a student (or child, if you’re a parent) or to import a class list from a .csv file.

If you’re a parent and you’d rather not add students (like I did above, because I’m a really big nerd), you can simply have your child access the Earn Your Future Digital Lab by clicking on the ‘Launch Earn Your Future Digital Lab’.

Once on the screen, kids can choose either:

• Level 1 (Beginner): content designed for kids in grades 3-5 [Coming in fall of 2016!]
• Level 2 (Intermediate): content designed for kids in grades 6-8 [focus: Help them plan for their future and make smart decisions about money.]
• Level 3 (Advanced): content designed for kids in grades 9-12 [focus: Prepare students for life after high school and a look at careers, income, saving, credit, budgeting, home buying, risk insurance, stock market, and more.]

We only really looked at the Level 2 resources since Maddy is in grade six.

In Level 2, there are seven sections to explore: 

• Module 1: Mortgage Mystery
• Module 2: Truth or Dare?
• Module 3: Can I Afford a Phone?
• Module 4: Too Good to be True?
• Module 5: What’s Your Interest?
• Module 6: #Link2YourFuture

Maddy looked closely at several modules over time, and I think we both learned a lot.

Kids can earn ‘badges’ for each module they complete. You know we all love a little pat on the back when we finish something with success. . . 

Each section is interactive and packed with information. I mean packed.

Like any solid lesson or unit plan, the modules contain pre-tests, reminders, mini-quizzes to check for understanding, repetition of material, and engaging, interactive components.

The support and resources available is astonishing. Really.

Each module contains printable teacher guides, introduction videos, related videos, and more. I actually almost couldn’t believe how much support was there–but it needs to be! Some of these topics are pretty confusing for kids — and adults!

The lessons provide a ton of talking points and conversation starters for kids and parents; the PwC Charitable Foundation also includes more related resources on their website.

They’re organized both by topic and age level. You can grab them here: Additional Financial Literacy Resources.

And really, I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: the resources are amazing.

Though this is a late beginning for us as far as raising financially literate children, I’m excited. 

I really am.

I’m excited about these resources.

I’m excited about this opportunity.

I’m excited that I get to share this with you, and I’m excited that all of our kids will learn a bit thanks to the Earn Your Future Digital Lab.

And I’m excited that I get to learn a bit, too.

What do you think? Is this something that you will check out with your kids? Might you pass on these resources to your child’s school or teachers?

I’d love to hear it!

fyi: This post was written as part of a partnership with PwCCharitable Foundation, but as always, all opinions are my own, influenced only by my experience as a parent and educator.