Best Day at the Zoo - Learning Guide by bonzy.org

Personal Financial Literacy for Children through Storytelling Learning Guide

Learning Guide

Best Day at the Zoo Learning Guide

Welcome to the Learning Guide for BestDayattheZoo . This Learning Guide reinforces the personal financial literacy concepts presented in the book BestDayattheZoo .

• Choices

• Needs

• Wants

• Savings

• Budget

• Spending

• Earning Money

• Donating

• Dreams for Your Future

• Making Good Choices is Up to You

Have fun while you learn!

Choices

Picking to do one thing instead of another.

Example: You have choices on how you will spend your money.

Needs

Something that is important that you cannot do without.

Example: You cannot do without food, water, a place to sleep, or clothing to keep you warm.

Wants

Something that would be good to have but is not a need.

Example: You want an ice cream cone, but it is not a need like fruits, vegetables, and other food.

Savings

Money that is put aside to pay for needs and wants in the future. Savings can also be invested to created more money in the future.

Example: Putting money that you earned or that you were given into a piggy bank, a jar or a box. You can also take your money to a bank where they will save it for you and pay you interest.

What do YOU think?

• Why is it sometimes harder to save money than to spend money?

• Give examples of why it is important to save money.

• Give an example of a savings plan.

• Give examples of ways to save money instead of spending money.

Budget

A plan for earning money, saving money, donating money, and spending money.

Example: You make a budget before you go to the zoo. Your budget is a guide for a how much you will spend and on what things you will spend your money.

Spending

Buying things that you need or that you want.

Example: You go to the zoo and you buy a souvenir to remember your best day at the zoo.

What do YOU think?

• What is the difference between a need and a want?

• Adults spend money on some things every month, like mortgage payments, rent, or car payments. With the remaining money, they can purchase needs, purchase some wants, save money, or donate money.

• A budget can provide you with a plan on how to spend your money.

• What would you like to plan for in your budget?

• Give examples of spending to buy things now versus saving to buy things later.

• Advertising can inform people about things to purchase.

• Advertising can also make someone think that they need something when they only really want something.

• On what do you see advertised that makes you want to spend your money?

Earning Money

You can earn money by learning a skill and then using that skill to get paid.

Example: You learn to plant flowers and then use that skill to plant flowers for neighbors to earn money.

What do YOU think?

• Another way of saying Earning Money is Earning Income. Income is the money that a person receives for doing their job.

• Here are some jobs that people have to earn income.

• Teacher

• Realtor

• Police Officer

• Warehouse Worker

• Doctor

• Restaurant Waiter

• What other jobs do people have?

What do YOU think?

• People can earn income differently depending on their job.

People can be paid through hourly wages, salaries, commissions, or tips.

• Hourly wages means you get paid income based on the number of hours you work.

• If a person’s income is based on a salary, then they receive the same income every week or two weeks.

• Many salespeople get paid income on a commission basis. They get paid when they sell something.

• Many restaurant waiters earn their income from tips

When they do a good job providing service, the people they help with their meals pay them a percentage of the total food bill.

What do YOU think?

• How do you think people in the following professions earn incomes?

Profession

Teacher

Realtor

Police Officer

Warehouse Worker

Doctor

Restaurant Waiter

Income Type

• Commission

• Hourly Wage

• Salary

• Tips

• •

Donating

Giving some of your money to people that do not have enough money to pay for their needs.

Example: People place money in red kettles during the holidays. Those donations help buy things for people that have needs that they cannot pay for themselves.

Dreams for Your future

Dreams for Your Future

It is fun to dream about your future. You could be a teacher, a scientist, a doctor, a police officer or whatever you want to be if you plan and learn the skills to make it happen.

What do YOU think?

• What profession would you like as a job when you are an adult?

• Will you have to be a good reader to do your job well?

• What other skills will you have to learn to do your job well?

Making Good Choices is Up to You

You are responsible for making good choices so that your dreams will come true. Learning to read, being prepared for classes, and graduating from high school are choices that you can decide to make right now. Those choices will help make your dreams come true.

Good luck to you!

We hope your choices place you on a path to lots of happiness.