As parents, we spend so much time teaching kindness, curiosity, and independence — but what about money sense?

For children, learning about money isn’t about pounds or pennies — it’s about understanding choices. Choices to save, share, or spend. Choices that build patience, gratitude, and a sense of value.

At Spoon & Sky, we believe that even the smallest moments — a pretend shop in the living room or saving for a toy — can help children grow into confident, thoughtful decision-makers.
And the best part? You don’t need worksheets or complicated charts. Just everyday play, gentle conversations, and a few coins.

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🌱 Why Teach Kids About Money Early?

Between ages 3–8, children begin to grasp the concept of value: they notice that coins, cards, and notes mean “something.”

Introducing financial learning early doesn’t mean talking about credit scores — it means planting seeds of awareness:

• Understanding exchange: “I give something, I get something.”
• Recognizing effort: “We work or wait for things we want.”
• Practicing patience: “We can save for later.”
• Building empathy: “We can share what we have.”

These skills aren’t just about money — they’re emotional tools. Patience, gratitude, and choice-making will help them thrive in every area of life.

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🏦 The Building Blocks of Early Financial Learning

Here’s what children 3–8 can begin to understand:

Age	Focus	How to Teach It
3–4 years	Recognizing coins & notes	Sort by size, shape, color — make it tactile!
4–5 years	Understanding exchange	Pretend shops, swapping toys, snack bar role-play
5–6 years	Learning value	“This coin buys that treat” — simple cost comparisons
6–8 years	Saving & goal-setting	Jars for “save,” “spend,” and “share” — add to them weekly

Learning happens best through hands-on play. Let’s look at how to make that magic happen.

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🛍️ 1. Pretend Play: The Power of the Mini Shop

Set up a little corner shop with toys, snacks, or even buttons. Give your child a few coins (real or paper cut-outs). Label prices simply:

• Banana: 2p
• Toy car: 5p
• Cookie: 1p

Take turns being the shopkeeper and the customer.
Ask:
💬 “What can you buy with this much?”
💬 “Do you want to save for something bigger?”

🧠 Teaches: decision-making, counting, turn-taking, patience

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🐖 2. The Three-Jar System: Save, Spend, Share

Get three jars (or tins) and label them:

• Save – for something they want later
• Spend – for little treats or activities
• Share – for giving to others (charity box, helping a friend, etc.)

Each week, give your child a small allowance or “earnings” from helping at home — even 20p split between jars works.

💡 Let them see the coins grow. It helps them grasp value better than a digital number ever could.

🧠 Teaches: planning, generosity, patience

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🎲 3. Money Games You Can Play Anytime

Turn learning into fun — here are a few ideas that fit easily into your family rhythm:

Coin Sorter Challenge
Mix coins in a bowl and have your child sort by size or value.
👉 For older kids, ask them to make groups that equal 10p or £1.

Price Match Game
Show two items (a small treat and a bigger one).
Ask: “This one costs 2 coins, this one costs 5. Which could we buy if we only had 4?”

The Wish List Game
Make a picture wish list — draw or print things they’d like. Talk about what might take more saving and what could be a “quick win.”

🧠 Teaches: visualizing goals, problem-solving, math skills

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🍪 4. Kitchen Counting: The Tasty Way to Learn Value

The kitchen is full of little lessons in patience, measurement, and value.

Try this:
When baking, label ingredients with pretend “prices” — flour 2p, eggs 1p, chocolate chips 3p.
Give your child a set “budget” (say, 10p) and let them “shop” for what they’ll add to the mix.

It’s playful, creative, and gives real meaning to making choices.

🧠 Teaches: basic budgeting, trade-offs, and resourcefulness

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🧩 5. Craft Your Own “Coin Chart”

Children love collecting — why not make a visual chart where they can track coins they’ve earned?

On a large piece of paper, draw ten circles.
Each circle = 10p earned.
Color them in together as the week goes on.

When they fill the sheet, decide together how to use it — maybe a trip to the park café or choosing a new book.

🧠 Teaches: delayed gratification, visual progress tracking

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📚 6. Books That Teach Kids About Money

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Children learn best through story. These picture books make money concepts fun, gentle, and relatable:

1. Save It! by Cinders McLeod — bright, funny, and full of animal characters learning how to save for what matters.
2. Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock by Sheila Bair — teaches compound saving through story.
3. A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams — a classic about working together, saving, and generosity.
4. The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money by Stan & Jan Berenstain — timeless lessons in earning and spending.
5. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts — empathy, gratitude, and learning that “want” isn’t always “need.”

📖 Pro Tip: Keep one of these books near your bedtime stack — reading about value reinforces gentle lessons about patience and kindness.

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💡 7. Real-Life Practice: Everyday Money Moments

• In the shop: Let your child hand over the coins or tap the card.
• At home: Create a simple “job board” — watering plants, setting the table, feeding the pet. Let them earn small coins or tokens.
• In conversation: Use phrases like “We’re saving for…” or “We’ll choose next week” to model patience and planning.

🧠 Teaches: delayed reward, communication, responsibility

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🪙 8. Printable Activity: My Money Tracker

Create a simple chart or use one from the file attached below.

Include:

• Coins earned this week
• What I saved for
• What I shared
• Something I felt proud of

Color, draw, and celebrate progress — because the goal isn’t perfection, it’s confidence.

✨ Get your chart here:

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🌿 Final Thoughts

Teaching money to young children isn’t about creating mini-accountants — it’s about helping them build calm, confident relationships with value.

By making it playful, visual, and emotional, we turn an abstract concept into something meaningful.
They’re not just learning math — they’re learning mindfulness, choice, and gratitude.

Because when we teach kids how to handle little things with care — time, toys, or coins — they grow into people who handle big things with wisdom.

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💫 Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a tiny “shopkeeper” waiting to sell me a plastic banana for 5p and a paper cookie for 3p — and I wouldn’t miss that trade for the world.

With warmth (and jingling pockets),
Lily Luz
Spoon & Sky Studios