Hobbies And Interests
Handfuls of Coins
To play this coin counting game, put a large amount of coins in a drawstring bag or another receptacle. Then encourage your child to reach into the bag, take out a handful of coins and put them on the table in front of him. You do the same. Each of you needs to count up the value of the coins you have in your pile, and the player with the highest value wins the round. Replace the coins and play several more rounds, until one player reaches five or ten points, depending on your child's attention span.
For Sale
Over the course of several days, give your child coins for doing something beneficial or positive. For example, if your child comes when you ask her to, give her a penny; if she cleans up her room, give her a dime; if she washes the dinner dishes, give her a quarter. After several days, set up a store made of dollar store items that your child likes, such as decorative pencils, rubber balls and stickers, each with a cost written next to it. Your child can then use her collected money to buy as many of these items as she can.
Trading In
To play this game, place piles of nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars on the table. Your child starts the game with a large pile of pennies. Show her how to count out five pennies and trade them in for a nickel, and have her do this several times. Then show her how to count out two nickels or ten pennies and trade them in for a dime. Repeat this process with the quarters and the half dollars. Challenge your child to find the smallest number of coins she can get by using this trading process. At the end of the game, your child should have fewer than five pennies, fewer than two nickels, fewer than five dimes, and fewer than two quarters.