We were asked by the people at www.iChild.co.uk, a fabulous website containing a wealth of free educational resources for children up to age 11, to explore their F&C Saving Superstar activities. (F&C are an investment company).
These are designed to teach children about money and guide them through a range of activities which get them used to the look and feel of money, as well as some basic sums and exercises to show how much things cost.
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Caitlin, wondering how many Hello Kitty items could be purchased with these coins
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iChild is designed for childminders, teachers, nursery carers, volunteer leaders, parents, grandparents or anyone looking after children. It has a vast range of free resources which support the current National Curriculum, plus activities suitable for the many religious festivals throughout the year. For example, there is a section on maths and the alphabet, as well as information about attractions such as Chessington Zoo or stories about the Saints. There is so much to choose from, it's tempting to browse for ages.
We will certainly be exploring some of the other activities on the iChild website!
*A collaborative post.
In addition, for a small monthly fee of £7.99, you can become a Gold member which gives you access to printable material such as flash cards and posters which can be personalised. Gold Members can store up to 30 activities per day in an online "Toy Box" and print them all off in one go. Currently, if you pay annually, you receive two months' free plus a CD of nursery rhymes worth £10.
But, back to the F&C Saving Superstar activities. We received activities targeted for the Under 5's and the 5-7 age groups.
There are 10 activities to complete in each age group and, using the corresponding reward chart and certificate, you can monitor your child's progress as you go along and then reward them at the end. The first 2 activities, a reward chart and a certificate for each age group are downloadable free directly from the iChild website, with the rest being available free once you have registered at www.fandc.com/superstar.
For the under 5's, the kinds of activities included are:-
There is even a party and a game included.
There is also a Race to £5 game and, for parents, a handy guide to internet safety.
We had a lot of fun with the iChild F&C-Saving-Superstar Activities and I'd heartily recommend them as a way of introducing your children to the topic of money and saving in a structured, sensible way.
There are 10 activities to complete in each age group and, using the corresponding reward chart and certificate, you can monitor your child's progress as you go along and then reward them at the end. The first 2 activities, a reward chart and a certificate for each age group are downloadable free directly from the iChild website, with the rest being available free once you have registered at www.fandc.com/superstar.
For the under 5's, the kinds of activities included are:-
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Ieuan & Daddy consider the coins needed to buy a top of the range Aston Martin
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- Looking at money - identify which coin is which
- What is the value of each coin - what will they buy
- Simple counting
There is even a party and a game included.
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| No. £1.88 is just not going to do it |
For the 5-7's the activities are a little more complex as you'd expect. For example
- The children are asked to copy the patterns and colours of coins onto templates
- They are asked to identify the cheapest and the most expensive items
- They are asked to work out what they can afford with pocket money earned from helping around the house (my absolute favourite!!!).
There is also a Race to £5 game and, for parents, a handy guide to internet safety.
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Caitlin, assessing whether tooth fairy payments have increased in line with inflation
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We will certainly be exploring some of the other activities on the iChild website!
*A collaborative post.
