| Greetings!
Welcome to the February edition of the Kidnexions Connection. Our goal is to provide you with useful information about kids and money with an emphasis on making connections between what kids learn and their every day lives.
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| Teaching Kids Money |
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We've designed a fun 15-Day Challenge for parents of kids ages 6 - 16...because the piggy bank is only the first step. Learn how to build the financial foundation with your kids. It's free and all begins February 22! Click here to learn more.
Raised for Richness: Did you know that Raised for Richness, our parent primer on teaching kids money, was field-tested by nine families before going to print? Pre-order and receive a 25% discount. Coupon code: RP7910 |
| Teachable Money Moment |
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The best way to teach kids financial literacy is in the context of their everyday lives. Here's this month's teachable money moment:
The next time you're out shopping with your child and she finds something she wants to buy (with her money, of course), have her think about the number of work hours or jobs that are necessary for her to pay for the purchase. For example, have her come up with the number of hours she would have to babysit in order to buy the item. Or how many lawns she would need to mow. Or how many cans she would have to recycle.
Giving her the opportunity to think about her purchase in terms of the work involved allows her to have a concrete representation of the effort behind the purchase. And she just may decide that her time and effort is a little more valuable than the item.
An added bonus: She may also develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the choices you make with the money you earn. |
| February Connection: The Power of Relevance |
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Relevance is an unbelievable teaching tool. That's because it's much easier to learn something when it's relevant to our lives. And, often, it makes learning more fun.
Consider a child studying a unit on growing plants in her third grade class. When the teacher starts talking about how healthy plants grow, her little ears perk up. This year, her dad put her in charge of the family vegetable garden, so learning about soil, watering, and weed control was meaningful to her; the information was relevant to her life.
The power with relevance is that it establishes a purpose for learning. And when things have purpose, the learning becomes more powerful. So if we can connect the learning that kids do to their every day lives, in other words, if we make it relevant, then deeper learning and understanding will take place.
The Money Connection: If we want our kids to learn about and understand money - how to save it, share it, spend it, and invest it wisely - then we need to find a way to make it relevant to their everyday lives. And the best way to make it relevant? Give them the responsibility of managing their own money.
When they're in charge, all of a sudden, learning how to effectively manage that money becomes meaningful and, by default, relevant. If they want to buy that really cool cell phone, then learning how to create a personal financial goal becomes relevant. If they want to invest in their favorite clothing company, then researching the company has now become relevant. And if they expect to save enough money to bring with them on vacation, then learning how to make good spending choices has become relevant.
When it comes to teaching kids about money, there's no better lesson than to use the power of relevance. When it's your money, it's not that important. When it's theirs, it's a whole new story. And that's a story with a happy ending.
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KidsSave's Blog Vignettes |
PRIORITIES: She Who Dies with the Most Jewels Wins
TEACHING KIDS MONEY : Beyond the Piggy Bank 15-Day Challenge
ALLOWANCE: Too Much of a Hassle?
KIDS EARNING MONEY: A Win/Win
KEEPING ORGANIZED: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
KIDS and INVESTING: A blog worthy of John
ENTITLED KIDS: Sheesh. Really. |
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Karyn Recommends |
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This site, It's My Locker is very cool. Here's the description given by Jill, the creator of the site...and a parent of 3.
ItsMyLocker is a cool, safe place for kids to connect with friends and community members. It is intended to be used by existing communities - kids that are already friends, existing groups, youth groups, scouts, neighbors looking for babysitters, etc... It is not built like the popular adult social networking sites where the intent is to be friends with as many people as possible. ItsMyLocker was designed to be appropriate for tweens.
But here's the part that got my attention and that I think is ingenious, especially for entreprenurial kids. It's a place where kids can find or post jobs. Again, here's Jill:
When kids post a job in their neighborhood, it is organized by zip code. When a neighbor searches their zip code, they can find kids that are looking to babysit, tutor, water plants, walk dogs,etc. Once a neighbor clicks the "Hire me" button, an email is sent to the parent of that kid. It then becomes the responsibility of the parent to email the neighbor who is interested. Parent involvement in necessary! Another way kids can earn money on ItsMyLocker.com is to search for a "Help Wanted". The Help Wanted section on ItsMyLocker is where community members can post needs, ones that can be filled by hiring a local kid. All communication goes through the parent of the kid posting the job. It is also common for service organizations to post volunteer opportunities.
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"Treat a child as though he already is the person he's capable of becoming." Haim Ginott
Wishing you continued success as you teach your children to be saving savvy and money smart. John and Karyn Hodgens Kidnexions co-founders
Karyn Hodgens has a BA in Child Development, a Masters of Arts in Education with a Specialization in Elementary Mathematics, and a multiple subjects teaching credential. Her passion is designing real-world lessons that resonate with kids and their interests. Karyn is currently teaching kids how to prepare for their financial future in addition to writing about kids and money issues. Contact Karyn at karyn@kidnexions.com
John Hodgens has a BS in Electrical Engineering. He is currently a software engineer committed to designing software applications that help make teaching science and math concepts easier. Contact John at john@kidnexions.com |
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| Celebrating Success |
This Month's KidsSaver
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Let's celebrate the success of kids who achieve their personal financial goals!
Congratulations Kai!
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| Raised for Richness |
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A "how to" to help kids master financial literacy, this family guide shows parents and caregivers how to initiate vital dialogue on money -- and life. |
| Our Blog |
Join us on our blog where we will be sharing stories about kids and their journey along the path to becoming saving savvy and money smart. |
| FREE Tools |
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Free tools to teach kids about money
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| Quips and Tips |
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| ZiggityZoom.com |
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Read Karyn's latest article
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| LinkedIn |
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| LinkedIn: Join our group Conversations about Kids and Money. |
| Order KidsSave |
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Join our list and recieve a copy of 8 Steps to Putting Your Kids in Charge of Their Financial Futures
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