We’ve been learning about money over here, and we have a couple of fun money counting activities to share with you. I enjoy money counting activities because counting money is one of those skills you will use for the rest of your life. It can also be a lot of fun. Money makes noise, it’s fun to dig your hands into, and it buys things. What’s not to like?

Money Counting Activity #1

I love using things I already have around the house to teach basic concepts, and in this case we used cupcake liners from the cupboard, some left over garage sale stickers, and some coins from my purse. I like the idea of being able to count money into something, and cupcake liners worked as great pile separators. I had some leftover garage sale stickers, that we had picked up at the dollar store, and I used their pre-printed money amounts for several of our money piles. The sticker pack also came with blank stickers, so I could write additional amounts on those. I had easier amounts for my younger kids, and then they got a bit harder as we went on. They had a great time with it, and it was fast and easy to set up.

Money Counting Activity #2

I also love the idea of using cash registers with realistic looking pretend bills and coins. Confession time: When I was a little girl, it was my dream to work as a cashier. I wanted to make the till ding, and sort the money into the correct spaces. The buttons all looked awesome, and the whole job just seemed magical. My dreams changed eventually, but I still think cash registers are a lot of fun. They are also great fun for kids, and they are great for teaching kids to count money.

For this second money counting activity, I gathered a bunch of play food from my kids playroom, and put it into my baby’s shopping cart. We bought it for her to haul all of her kitties around in, but it works well for groceries too. 🙂 I used more of our garage sale stickers to label the food with prices, and then the kids could pick up the food and bring it to checkout. We don’t have a cool cash register yet, but I love this one from Amazon. The kids can use the pretend money to purchase their food, and if you have more than one child playing, one can be the shopper, and another the cashier.

If you don’t have an awesome cashier and fake money, you can always send your kids to dig some coins out of the couch, the laundry, or, if all else fails, your purse. You can also use real food items from your pantry if you don’t have play food. Boxes and cans work best.

I hope you’ve been inspired by these fun money counting activities and have some great ideas to play with money at your house. Feel free to share your own twist on these in the comments below or tag us on Instagram or Facebook.

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