Mad About Money!

   We recently started our unit on economics and while our teaching objectives focus on wants and needs and understanding how money is used today the kids seem to be taking a more sincere interest in the history of money! They have totally mastered how to write a basic budget (chores and minor purchases), the numerical value of money, the difference between a want and a need, and even further they now realize that there are many types of money all over the world that have different values and a direct value relationship to our U.S. dollar.
    We did a whole class activity for which the stage was set in a time years ago, even before actual money existed, and each child was given a good and asked to come to the realization on their own that people would have to trade one thing to obtain another. To do this I simply gave them play things like dice (cheese), crayons (soap), play food, keys (metal for tools) and asked them how they would get soap and food for their family when all they had was metal or buttons. They then came to the realization that they would have to trade one good for another. The kids navigated their way through understanding "bartering" and came to the realization that sometimes they couldn't get a fair deal if someone was being a stickler with negotiation! Some of the little ones even discovered how to undercut  challenge their competition for better trades! haha! The kids were engaged in the process and were able to sort through the concept of bartering and understand that a standard value currency was necessary for people to participate in a successful economic community. This is just another fine example of why kids amaze me every day; they were able to sort through years worth of complex problems in a thirty minute lesson (kidding!). I wonder what the children long ago thought about the development of money?
    Parallel to the aforementioned, the kids are interested in why we use the money we do today instead of the gold and silver types of years ago. Someone suggested it became to expensive to produce the coins of gold and silver. This will be the next step in our investigation...