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Money and Stocks
Bureau of Engraving and Printing - Click directly into the Kid's Area to find out how the U.S. government prints its currency. The resources are divided into two sections: ages 5 to 8 or 9 to 13. In the section for younger kids, a friendly clown named Bucky escorts you around the carnival fair (click on the tent). Learn about various new security features on bills of different denominations. Try to memorize whose portrait is on which bill, and then move into the arcade (click on Play Games). I think these games are too difficult for young kids to play alone; even adults will have a hard time if they didn't pay attention back in the tutorial section. While everyone knows that a National Football League dollar is bogus, not everyone is aware that the new $5 bill is the only one without color-shifting ink. A slightly easier game in this section is a puzzle called Build a Buck. Can you put everything back together? I tried the section aimed at 9-13 as well. It's based on a space station metaphor. The games are similar but I liked the presentation better. Once you've mastered the challenges, go back to the "little kids arcade" and try the Funny Money game. Just throw a fruit every time a counterfeit bill goes by. You'll have to be quick to shine black light on the bill (see the security strip) and white light (to see the watermark).
Children and Money - The NCFE recently joined with the Jump-Start Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy to promote teaching children in grades K-12 how to develop, encourage and understand personal finance. Great articles on the website like "18 Ways for Children to Learn the Value of Money," and "The 10 Commandments of Personal Finance for Young People." You just might want to take the "Spending Perception Scale Test to find out your spending habits.
Department of the Treasury Kid's Page - The U.S. Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing are just a few of the many organizations working under the Department of the Treasury. Take the tour led by Trez the cat (does Socks know about this?). Someone call the Secret Service! No problem, they work for the Treasury Department, too. Don't miss the Dog of the Month--those customs service drug-sniffing dogs have their own trading cards on the Net. Our favorite part, though, is the "Start Your Own Business" game, where you can pretend to run a lemonade stand, operate a lawn-mowing business, or manage a rock band. What's involved in starting a business? Find out here.
Econopolis! - Let's join up with Mega Money and his pets Bill the horse and Dollar the dog. They're prepared to lead us on a tour through Econopolis, a ThinkQuest Junior Web page designed to help children learn about economics. There's a quiz at the end of each part of the tour, and an incorrect answer will take you back to the beginning.
EduStock - EduStock is designed to explain what the stock market is and how it works. It includes tutorials on how to pick good stocks, information on a select group of companies, and a free 20-minute-delayed stock market simulation. Check it out and learn how to make your fortune. This site was the best entry in the 1996 ThinkQuest contest for educational Web sites created by teens.
FunBrain Change Maker - See how good you are at making change for a dollar. How many pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters should you give back after a certain purchase is made? This site has other fun games too, including a concentration matching game and math baseball.
Inflation Calculator - Inflation is an interesting concept. Lots of times you will hear an older person talk about "the good old days" and how much--actually, how little--something cost back then. This inflation calculator lets you figure out just how much monetary values have changed over the years. A nickel candy bar in 1959 (yes, they did cost just five cents then!) would be priced at 27 cents today. Actually, they cost more than that, don't they? How do you explain that? Anyway, one of those `59 candy bars would be pretty stale by now. You can also explain to your dad that the $5 weekly allowance he used to get should really be translated into more than $26 today!
Investing for Kids - How can you use money to make more money? What's the deal with stocks, anyway? And what the heck are mutual funds? This page, developed by kids for other kids, will let you check your knowledge of the stock market, play some money games, and learn about the world of financial investments. Study this ThinkQuest entry; then give your parents some advice!
Ithaca Money - Did you know some communities print their own local currency? Ithaca, N.Y. is one such place. The idea is to keep money inside the community, and the special Ithaca Hours bills can be used only in that area. Each Ithaca hour is worth $10.00. Bills are issued in whole hours and fractions of an hour. The bills look really cool, too, see them at this site. They are accepted currency at restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses. Why are they called "hours"? Here's the answer, "They are called 'hours' to remind us that the real source of money's value is created by people--their time, skills, and energy. The $10 equivalence is based on the average hourly income in Tompkins County when Hours were developed in 1991. By encouraging people to think about the value of other people's time and of their own time, Hours help bring equity to work." This idea is catching on all over the United States and beyond. There's a list of other Hours communities, as well as a starter kit to help others who want to participate.
Kids' Money - Kids' Money is an interactive resource for parents interested in helping their children develop successful money management habits and financial responsibility. This site will continually change as a result of new comments, suggestions and information.
KidsBank.Com - How does a checkbook work? What's interest? What does the bank do with the money in your account? Find out how banks work, how money is made, and even how electronic funds transfer takes place.
Learn2 Balance Your Checkbook - Account balancing was difficult enough before the onslaught of ATMs swept the nation. So let's get those growing piles of bank statements under control; as this 2torial shows, it's really not too hard once you assemble the necessary elements.
Merrill Lynch Family Saving Center - This site from Merrill Lynch includes information for the whole family, from teaching money saving skills to kids to college planning for teens, to creating personal budgets.
My Successful Business - Find out how a sixth-grade girl took an idea and turned it into cash. She came up with a design for Beanie Baby leashes, suggested it as a 4-H project, secured a loan from the bank, and went into the manufacturing and marketing business. Read how she made a $500 profit!
Sorting Money Practice with Pigs - Pig's left all his change lying around. It's your job to click and drag the quarters, nickels, and dimes into the right containers. Don't miss the fifty-cent pieces!
The Stock Market Game - The Stock Market Game has been played by over six million kids over the last 20 years. Get your teacher involved, and then get your team together. Play with a hypothetical $100,000, and see how much more pretend money you can make over the course of the game. Results are tallied once each week. There is a nominal registration fee.
United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change Web Site - Meanwhile, who is minding the U.S. Mint? You'll see it's in good hands as you explore this site. Learn how coins are made and then check out the new "golden" dollar coin and the 50 state quarters. If you click into the Kids' area, called H.I.P Pocket Change, you can color the state quarters and play other coin-related games.
What's a Dollar Worth? CPI Calculation Machine - Did you know that, from day to day, week to week, and year to year, money is not always worth the same amount? The consumer price index is a way for us to compare the buying power of today's money to the money of yesteryear. Type in an amount and a base year; then put in this year and see the difference.
Young Investor Web Site - The Young Investor Web Site is an excellent way for kids to learn the fundamentals of money and investing in a comfortable, familiar and interactive environment. It was designed first and foremost to be a fun and innovative place on the Internet's World Wide Web. The Young Investor Web Site was developed by Liberty Financial Companies, a Boston-based asset management company. Since 1993, Liberty Financial has been a leader in the financial education of children through its award winning Liberty Financial Young Investor Program.
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