The Big Idea Funny Money This week we ll take coins to a new level, by comparing their values, buying fun prizes using specific amounts, and playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with them! Supplies Bedtime Math provides: Blue sparkly pencils: 1 per kid Mini decks of playing cards: 1 per kid You provide: Dimes and nickels: 4 per 3 kids of each coin Quarters: 1 per kid Pennies: 100 total (2 rolls) Ziploc sandwich bags: 4 Key Prep: Fill 4 bags with 25 pennies each. Don t worry, you get your money back! The coins are just for use during club. What s the Math? Valuing units of money Counting by 5s and 10s Addition Comparisons (greater than, less than) 2014-16 Bedtime Math Foundation. All rights reserved.
Kickoff Intro to the kids: Who here likes money? Why? (Discuss) Money can buy things, but you have to know what your coins are worth. Coins are worth cents, which are parts of a dollar. Let s see what they can buy! Metal in My Pocket (10-15 minutes) Intro to the kids: Let s first figure out why we have coins of different amounts. 1. (hold up penny) What do you call this coin? (Take guesses) This is a penny, worth one cent. It doesn t buy much these days. 2. (hold up quarter) And what do you call this coin? (Take guesses) This is a quarter, and it s worth 25 cents. Much better! 3. What if you want to buy a 25-cent candy bar? How many coins do you need? Let s have 2 volunteers help us out! 4. Invite 2 volunteers up to the front. Ask the kids: What if (Volunteer #1) wants to pay using pennies? How many does it take? Take guesses, then hand Volunteer #1 a bag of 25 pennies. What if (Volunteer #2) wants to buy the 25-cent candy using quarters? How many does it take? Take guesses, then hand 1 quarter to Volunteer #2. Which one looks easier to carry? Discuss! 5. Take back the coins, then invite up 2 new volunteers. Ask the kids: What if a candy bar costs a whole dollar? How many cents is that? Take guesses, then discuss how a dollar is worth 100 cents. So how many pennies do you need for a $1 candy bar? Discuss, then hand 4 bags of 25 pennies each to Volunteer #3. And how many quarters do you need? Discuss how a quarter is a quarter or 1/4th of a dollar. Give 4 quarters to Volunteer #4. Which set of coins looks easier to carry around? Discuss! 2
Time for a Change (20-25 minutes) Intro to the kids: When you buy things, the price doesn t always come out to full dollars. That s why we need coins. Today we get to buy fun items, but you ll first have to figure out which coins add up to the right amount. 1. Divide the kids into groups of 3 (or pairs if not even). 2. Give each group 4 dimes and 4 pennies. Ask the kids: How much money do you think is in your pile? Discuss. Do you think you have the best coins to buy this pencil for 12? Can you make 12 using your coins? If your group finds the right combo, everybody wins a pencil! 3. Each group works together to find a way to make 12. When they re done, ask the kids: What combination worked? It should be 1 dime and 2 pennies. Then give each kid a pencil to take home. Ask the kids: We re just getting warmed up! Now, to buy this mini deck of cards, your group will have to find coins that add to 33. 4. Each group uses coins from its pile to make 33 cents. 5. Once a group collects the correct set of coins (3 dimes and 3 pennies), give each kid a mini deck of cards to take home. Bonus (optional): For older kids or any group that s moving fast, also give them 4 nickels. Challenge them to pick exactly 6 coins that add up to 31 cents. They should come up with 1 dime, 4 nickels, and 1 penny. 3
Son of Rock, Paper, Scissors (20 minutes) Intro to the kids: Now let s have a little competition. Do you know the game Rock, Paper, Scissors? (Discuss) Two people face each other and say Rock, Paper, Scissors, then each puts out a hand shaped like one of those three things. Rock beats scissors because it can smash them; scissors beat paper because they cut it; and paper beats rock since it can wrap around it. So any item can win or lose. We re going to do that today with coins: each coin beats out a coin worth less, EXCEPT pennies beat quarters! 1. Pair off the kids. Give each kid 1 of each coin: quarter, dime, nickel, penny. 2. Each player secretly chooses 1 of the 4 coins and hides it inside his/her fist. 3. Each pair of players faces each other and says Penny, nickel, dime, quarter! while pumping their fists. Then they both put out their open hand to show the coin chosen. 4. The winner gets to keep both coins. The winner is the player who has the higher value coin EXCEPT when it s a penny paired with a quarter, in which case the penny wins. In the case of a tie, players put the tied coins back in their unused pile and try again. If that s the last coin to play, each player keeps his/her coin and the game ends. 5. After players have used all their coins, ask the kids: How many pairs of players came out even? Why can the 2 players not come out even when you start with the same coins? Discuss! 6. If there s time and interest, kids can play another round. 4
A Touch of Class To the kids: Sure, money can buy things, but this week we found out you can do a lot more with coins, too using our math from school! How many cents do a quarter and a penny add to? (Answer: 26 cents, because 25+1=26, just like on a worksheet.) How many 10s and 1s (dimes and pennies) do you need to buy something for 23 cents? (Answer: 2 dimes and 3 pennies, because 10+10+1+1+1=23.) Make sure the kids remember to take home their pencils and mini decks of playing cards! 5