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Learning Tip: Nuts and bolts

What can you buy for a quarter? What about a dime? Give your child a coin and ask them to tiny items in a hardware store that they could buy. Nuts, bolts and washers are good items to choose because they don't have sharp points like nails or screws. A hardware store or home center will have bins of them, usually with clear labels displaying the price.

Remind your child the values of each coin. Ask, "Can you find something that costs less than ten cents? Is there anything that costs exactly ten cents?" Point out an item that costs more than the coin. Ask if they have enough to buy the item that is more than ten cents. If they have trouble, give them a running start counting up, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ...What comes next?" Give them a sense of what money is for by allowing your child to buy an item. Tell them, "We buy things at the store when we need them. We must pay our money before something becomes ours."