Kindergarten financial literacy curriculum
Money is something we use to buy things; we can earn, save, and choose wisely. One lesson a week for the school year, about 45 minutes each, with a worksheet, a quiz, a family letter and a checkpoint test every six weeks.
Every week includes
- Lesson plan with timings, differentiation and a hands-on activity
- Student worksheet and answer key
- Weekly quiz (75% unlocks the next week)
- Family letter in English, Spanish or Portuguese
Aligned to standards
Every lesson is tagged with the six areas of the National Standards for Personal Financial Education (Jump$tart Coalition and Council for Economic Education) and the grade's Common Core math standards. State codes are available for Illinois, Texas, Florida, North Dakota, Colorado, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Nebraska.
Scope and sequence
Unit 1 · Weeks 1–6Money, Coins, Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Is Money? We learn that money helps us buy the things we need. | Spending |
| 2 | Coins Are Money We meet the shiny coins we use every day. | Spending |
| 3 | Meet the Penny We learn the penny is worth one cent. | Spending |
| 4 | Meet the Nickel We learn the nickel is worth five cents. | Spending |
| 5 | Meet the Dime We learn the dime is worth ten cents. | Spending |
| 6 | Coin Celebration Week We review the coins we have learned so far. | Spending |
Checkpoint 1 closes the unit: Money, Coins, Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes.
Unit 2 · Weeks 7–12Quarters, Bills, Needs and Wants, Jobs, and Trading
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Meet the Quarter We learn the quarter is worth twenty five cents. | Spending |
| 8 | Dollars and Bills We learn that paper money is called a bill. | Spending |
| 9 | Needs and Wants We learn the difference between things we need and things we want. | Spending |
| 10 | Where Money Comes From We learn that grown ups earn money by working. | Earning IncomeManaging Credit |
| 11 | Trading and Money We learn that long ago people traded before using money. | Spending |
| 12 | Foundations Celebration We review money, coins, needs, wants, and jobs. | Earning IncomeSpending |
Checkpoint 2 closes the unit: Quarters, Bills, Needs and Wants, Jobs, and Trading.
Unit 3 · Weeks 13–18Sorting, Counting, Saving, and Goals
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Sorting Coins We practice putting coins into matching groups. | Spending |
| 14 | Counting Pennies We count small groups of pennies one by one. | Spending |
| 15 | Counting Nickels by Five We count nickels by fives to find how much we have. | Spending |
| 16 | Saving in a Jar We learn we can keep money to use later by saving. | SpendingSaving |
| 17 | Setting a Saving Goal We pick something to save for and call it a goal. | SpendingSavingInvesting |
| 18 | Skills Celebration Week We review sorting, counting, and saving. | Saving |
Checkpoint 3 closes the unit: Sorting, Counting, Saving, and Goals.
Unit 4 · Weeks 19–24Choices, Waiting, Sharing, Safety, and Mixed Coins
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Spending Choices We learn that we can only buy some things with our money. | Spending |
| 20 | Wants Can Wait We learn we can wait and save for a want. | SpendingSaving |
| 21 | Sharing and Giving We learn we can share some of our money to help others. | SpendingManaging Credit |
| 22 | Keeping Money Safe We learn to keep our money in a safe place. | SavingManaging Risk |
| 23 | Counting Mixed Coins We count a small group of pennies and nickels together. | Spending |
| 24 | Skills Review Celebration We celebrate spending, saving, sharing, and safe money. | SpendingSavingManaging Risk |
Checkpoint 4 closes the unit: Choices, Waiting, Sharing, Safety, and Mixed Coins.
Unit 5 · Weeks 25–30Borrowing, Prices, Enough, and Store Play
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Borrowing and Giving Back We learn to borrow things and give them back. | SpendingManaging Credit |
| 26 | Comparing Prices We learn that some things cost more than others. | Spending |
| 27 | Enough or Not Enough We check if we have enough money to buy something. | SpendingManaging Credit |
| 28 | Classroom Store Play We play store using play money to buy pretend items. | Spending |
| 29 | Being a Shopkeeper We take turns being the seller at our store. | SpendingInvesting |
| 30 | Choices Celebration Week We review choices, prices, and playing store. | Spending |
Checkpoint 5 closes the unit: Borrowing, Prices, Enough, and Store Play.
Unit 6 · Weeks 31–36Class Saving, Money Growing, Helpers, and Staying Safe
| Week | Lesson | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Our Saving Project We start a class project to save for a fun goal. | Saving |
| 32 | Tracking Our Savings We count how much our class has saved so far. | SpendingSaving |
| 33 | Money Can Grow We learn that money in a bank can grow a little over time. | SavingInvesting |
| 34 | Money Helpers in Our Town We learn about people who help us with money. | Earning IncomeSavingManaging Risk |
| 35 | Staying Safe with Money We learn to keep money and passwords safe. | Managing Risk |
| 36 | Money Matters Final Celebration We celebrate everything we learned about money this year. | Earning IncomeSpendingSaving |
Checkpoint 6 closes the unit: Class Saving, Money Growing, Helpers, and Staying Safe.
Bonus unit · after week 36Money and Investing
| Lesson | Topic | Standards areas |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | From Trading to Money Long ago people traded things they had; then they started using money. | Spending |
| B2 | Money That Can Grow A seed grows into a plant when we wait, and saved money can grow too. | SavingInvesting |
| B3 | Real Money, Pretend Money Game coins are pretend, real money buys real things, and we ask a grown-up first. | SpendingManaging Risk |
| B4 | Piggy Bank or Bank? A piggy bank holds coins at home. A bank keeps money safe for you. | SavingManaging Risk |
| B5 | Prices Can Change Prices can go up or down over time, so the same coins can buy more or less. | SpendingSaving |
Money connections: 5 short activities in this grade link the week's topic to Managing Credit, Investing (shown above in the Standards areas column).
Other grades
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8