So - you want to teach your Kids Economics?
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Fun and Easy Ways to Teach your Kids Economics
I am sure every parent will agree that their children need to learn the basics of economics. Our kids will grow up to be the leaders of our cities, counties and country - and if they don't have a firm grasp of economics, we will all suffer. But economics sounds like such a boring subject, and perhaps you know little about it yourself. So, how can you teach your kids economics and make it fun at the same time?
1. Use the news!
Economics happens all the time. A company downsizes and a friend loses their job. Talk to your kids about it. Explain why a company might need to downsize, and the effects it has. Explain why prices are going up and why some things are relatively more expensive than others. Use ordinary English to explain, and they will understand. How good is your Economics knowledge? Can you answer these 3 questions?
Definitions are from www.economists.com
2. Read
Duck Tales Inflation Lesson
Gather your kids round you and watch this one together - it is superb!
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3. Watch movies
Many movies have elements of economics in them. You can find a long list on www.moviesforecon.com but many are only appropriate for teens, or are not appropriate at all, so i am just selecting ones you can watch wih the whole family to highlight.
4. Play Board Games
Playing board games with economic themes is a great way to reinforce concepts with students.
5. Let them 'play' the Stockmarket
The Stockmarket is a great tool to teach your kids about economics. And you can do it without spending a cent of your money. How the Market Works is a free website that allows you to invest a 'pretend' $10 000 in the Stock Market and see how well your investments would do. You can open accounts for all members of the family and turn it into a mini contest over a defined number of weeks.And if your children enjoy this, find a few more kids their age and register them for the Stock Market game. Read more about it at Contests for Students
Fun gifts for budding economists
Any other good ideas to share? Were these ideas helpful?
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justinulrich
Aug 13, 2011 @ 5:54 pm | delete
- Nice article. I had an Austrian Economics professor that told us he used a funny approach with his 12 year-old son. He called it the "Bank of Dad." He would let his son "deposit" money, and give him a high interest rate of about 8% a month. This way he could actually see his money grow, with out getting burt out for the wait. If his son forgot or didnt have the money for something, he would also lend money at a high rate, to show just how detrimental getting into debt can be. Pretty cool lesson, I thought.
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VIrginia
Jun 14, 2011 @ 1:31 pm | delete
- Great article. Thanks! I love both Penny Candy and The Invisible Heart. You might also want to list An Island Called Liberty by Joseph Specht and the Striker Jones economics book by Maggie Larche. They're both great resources.
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merylvdm
Jun 14, 2011 @ 3:34 pm | delete
- Thanks - I am going to order both those - they look great!
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lasertek
May 11, 2011 @ 11:32 am | delete
- Very informative and great looking lens. Awesome job!
If you have time maybe you can visit our lens: Homeschooling 101: Guide to Free Curriculum and Other Resources.
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_Joan_
Aug 30, 2010 @ 6:25 pm | delete
- Great lens!
One of the things I do with my kids is talk about the economic implications of things we do in our daily activities. The question we discussed the other day was "How does it benefit GameStop when they give you this discount card?"
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by merylvdm
merylvdm
I am a South African who is now living in the USA. In South Africa I ran a number of small businesses in between running after my 4 kids.
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