Make Money Make "Cents" to Your Second Grader!

Sometimes, learning to count money can be a challenging task for your second grader.  Keeping track of all of the different kinds of coins and their values can be difficult.  But learning about money and working with various values is not only an important part of growing up, but it's also a great way for your second grader to hone her math skills.  Moreover, it's important to make the abstract concept of monetary worth something that is concrete for your child and this activity is a fun way to do so.  Try playing this game with your second grader the next time you've got some change lying around.

What You Need:

• Two players
• Play or real coins (approximately 50 pennies, 10 nickels, four dimes, and two quarters)
• Dice
• Paper
• Pencil

What to Do:

1. Take turns rolling the die. Each player rolls the die once per turn and each dot on the die equals one cent.

2. For a each turn, the player will draw and record the amount of the roll on the sheet of paper next to his or her name, labeling the turn each time.

3. Each time you add more cents when you roll the die, draw and record the new amount in the next few lines on the paper, numbering it accordingly.

4. On any given turn, circle the coins that you can trade for a larger coin if you're able. For example, if you have 7 cents, you may trade in five of those cents for one nickel; 10 cents for a dime, etc.

5. Draw and record what the trade looks like in the next few lines below.

6. The first person who reaches 25 cents and can trade in their coins for a quarter is the winner.

Variations: As your second grader becomes more confident and skilled with counting coins, you may want to make this activity more challenging by changing it to “Ways to Make $.50 or $1.00”