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PARENT ACTIVITY GUIDE

NAME:

A supplement to Junior Scholastic

The Power of Advertising Retailers have lots of ways to try to get people to spend their money now instead of later. Spend 10 minutes observing carefully. Fill in this chart to help you remember what you saw. ®

Store Environment 1. Do you see signs that promote impulse purchases?

Describe them.

Customers 1. How many customers came into the store during your observation?

2. How many customers made a purchase?

3. Do you think customers were making impulse purchases? Why or why not?

4. Were you tempted to buy something at the stores?

Did you?

Did anything surprise you?

6

DEAR PARENT, Supplement to Scholastic Magazines. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. 0-545-84918-7 MONEY CONFIDENT KIDS is a registered trademark of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., 2014-US-6695

2. Is the merchandise arranged in a way that promotes impulse purchases (such as small items near the cash register)? Describe it.

presented by

Talking about family finances with your child may feel daunting, but the good news is that every day brings new opportunities to teach your child about both the mechanics of money and the values that guide your choices. You just have to take advantage of them! Your kids learn each time they see you buy groceries, open a bill, or pick up some takeout for dinner after a tiring day.

Of course, kids are ready for different types of information at different times, and this guide has been designed for families with middle school–aged children.

Here’s how this activity guide works: 1. Read this activity guide and take a look at the Money Confident Kids magazine available at www.scholastic.com/ MCK/parents.

2. Choose the topic(s) you’re most interested in discussing with your child.

3. Start with Star Banks Adventure. Then explore the other activities together.

Don’t be afraid to share stories about financial mistakes that you’ve made.

Your child can learn just as much from your missteps as your successes.

Additional Online Resources www.scholastic.com/MCK/parents DOWNLOADABLE PDFs • Money Confident Kids magazine • Language of Money glossary • Costly Crossword puzzle • Amazing Money Maze activity • Spending Tracker tool

STAR banks adventure Engage your child in this exciting game that teaches positive financial behaviors.

VIDEOS “What Kids Say About Money” videos

RESOURCES • College Savings Guide • 30 Days of Financial Fitness family activity • “Basic Concepts Children Should Know” article

This Parent Activity Guide and the Money Confident Kids magazine are also available online.

1

Introductory Activity:

Topic A:

STAR BANKS ADVENTURE

Spend now, spend later

GOAL: Use this financial education game to help your child gain an initial understanding of spending, saving, goal setting, inflation, and asset allocation and diversification.

ARTICLES: “What’s Your Financial Path?” page 2 “Spending Now” page 2 “Spending Later” page 3

MATERIALS: “Making Money Work” on page 5 of Money Confident Kids magazine and Star Banks Adventure Game (both available at www.scholastic. com/mck/parents)

GOAL: Help your child understand that “saving” is really just planning to spend later.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine (www.scholastic.com/mck/parents), two bowls, small slips of paper TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

• Demonstrate how this activity will work by taking a small slip of paper and writing down one spending goal and its estimated cost (i.e., new washing machine, $450). Drop the paper into the appropriate bowl.

• With your child, create more paper slips; try to include a blend of family needs, things your child wants to buy, and your own personal wants.

• Go through the contents of the bowls and add up the costs in each. Based on the totals, decide together whether any items should shift to the LATER bowl and make a plan for how you might reach your goals. If time allows, separate the LATER bowl into smaller sections—goals to reach within two years, within 2–15 years, and 15-plus years.

5. A sk your child whether his or her opinion about spending and saving has changed. Discuss whether or not he or she feels that the idea of spending now and spending later is more positive and proactive

get ready

TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

Topic B:

Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about saving, spending, and statistics.

Teen Spending

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine for your child or look at it online.

activity

get ready In this game, you and your child will make financial choices in order to unlock new levels. As he or she progresses, your child will use knowledge of inflation and investments to make choices that allow him or her to reach longer-term goals. In addition, your child will be asked to answer questions to assess his or her understanding of key concepts. You will need access to a computer or tablet for this activity.

activity 1. To get started, open the Star Banks Adventure game at www.scholastic.com/mck/parents.

2. P lay Levels 1 and 2 on both the Budget and Deluxe levels. Before playing each level, your child should record the savings goal ($1,000 and $2,000).

Feel free to click on the question mark to review vocabulary terms and discuss any questions.

2

3. N ow look at Level 3 together. Read the introduction and ask: How is the Yellow Star Bank related to the idea of interest? (Saving in a Yellow Star Bank means you won’t lose any coins, but you can only earn a small amount of additional coins.) If you were saving for a long-term goal with a cost that would rise over time, do you predict that savings in the Yellow Star Bank would keep ahead of the rate of inflation?

4. C ontinue playing and watch for the inflation challenges on Level 14! Throughout, talk to your child about whether he or she did a “trade-off” and purchased a cheaper version of their goal (i.e., bought a used bike instead of a new one). Can you and your child apply what he or she is learning in Star Banks Adventure to your personal spending goals?

Now try the other activities within this Parent Guide to really dig into how your child can learn to make wiser financial choices!

1. A sk your child whether he or she thinks saving or spending is more important. Ask whether thinking about “spending later” (instead of “saving”) would make putting money aside easier and more fun.

2. T ogether read pages 2 and 3 of the Money Confident Kids magazine.

3. D raw attention to the sentence, “Every year, $258 billion is spent on and by young people like you.”

Talk with your child about your own experiences with spending now and spending later.

• Share the most challenging spending choice you’ve had to make.

• Ask your child to share his or her spending and saving challenges and concerns.

• Provide examples of how much you “spend now” versus “spend later” each month.

4. E ngage your child in the following activity about spending now versus spending later: • Put two bowls on the table. Label one NOW and one LATER. Explain that the NOW bowl will hold items that you want to buy this month. LATER is for anything that requires saving for more than a month.

ARTICLES: “What The Average Teen Buys” page 3 “spending now” page 2 GOAL: Help your child analyze his or her own spending habits.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine ((www.scholastic.com/mck/parents), “The Power of Advertising” worksheet TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

get ready Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about personal spending and impulse purchases.

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine and “The Power of Advertising” worksheet on page 4 of this PDF for your child or open them on your computer or tablet.

3

Introductory Activity:

Topic A:

STAR BANKS ADVENTURE

Spend now, spend later

GOAL: Use this financial education game to help your child gain an initial understanding of spending, saving, goal setting, inflation, and asset allocation and diversification.

ARTICLES: “What’s Your Financial Path?” page 2 “Spending Now” page 2 “Spending Later” page 3

MATERIALS: “Making Money Work” on page 5 of Money Confident Kids magazine and Star Banks Adventure Game (both available at www.scholastic. com/mck/parents)

GOAL: Help your child understand that “saving” is really just planning to spend later.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine (www.scholastic.com/mck/parents), two bowls, small slips of paper TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

• Demonstrate how this activity will work by taking a small slip of paper and writing down one spending goal and its estimated cost (i.e., new washing machine, $450). Drop the paper into the appropriate bowl.

• With your child, create more paper slips; try to include a blend of family needs, things your child wants to buy, and your own personal wants.

• Go through the contents of the bowls and add up the costs in each. Based on the totals, decide together whether any items should shift to the LATER bowl and make a plan for how you might reach your goals. If time allows, separate the LATER bowl into smaller sections—goals to reach within two years, within 2–15 years, and 15-plus years.

5. A sk your child whether his or her opinion about spending and saving has changed. Discuss whether or not he or she feels that the idea of spending now and spending later is more positive and proactive

get ready

TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

Topic B:

Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about saving, spending, and statistics.

Teen Spending

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine for your child or look at it online.

activity

get ready In this game, you and your child will make financial choices in order to unlock new levels. As he or she progresses, your child will use knowledge of inflation and investments to make choices that allow him or her to reach longer-term goals. In addition, your child will be asked to answer questions to assess his or her understanding of key concepts. You will need access to a computer or tablet for this activity.

activity 1. To get started, open the Star Banks Adventure game at www.scholastic.com/mck/parents.

2. P lay Levels 1 and 2 on both the Budget and Deluxe levels. Before playing each level, your child should record the savings goal ($1,000 and $2,000).

Feel free to click on the question mark to review vocabulary terms and discuss any questions.

2

3. N ow look at Level 3 together. Read the introduction and ask: How is the Yellow Star Bank related to the idea of interest? (Saving in a Yellow Star Bank means you won’t lose any coins, but you can only earn a small amount of additional coins.) If you were saving for a long-term goal with a cost that would rise over time, do you predict that savings in the Yellow Star Bank would keep ahead of the rate of inflation?

4. C ontinue playing and watch for the inflation challenges on Level 14! Throughout, talk to your child about whether he or she did a “trade-off” and purchased a cheaper version of their goal (i.e., bought a used bike instead of a new one). Can you and your child apply what he or she is learning in Star Banks Adventure to your personal spending goals?

Now try the other activities within this Parent Guide to really dig into how your child can learn to make wiser financial choices!

1. A sk your child whether he or she thinks saving or spending is more important. Ask whether thinking about “spending later” (instead of “saving”) would make putting money aside easier and more fun.

2. T ogether read pages 2 and 3 of the Money Confident Kids magazine.

3. D raw attention to the sentence, “Every year, $258 billion is spent on and by young people like you.”

Talk with your child about your own experiences with spending now and spending later.

• Share the most challenging spending choice you’ve had to make.

• Ask your child to share his or her spending and saving challenges and concerns.

• Provide examples of how much you “spend now” versus “spend later” each month.

4. E ngage your child in the following activity about spending now versus spending later: • Put two bowls on the table. Label one NOW and one LATER. Explain that the NOW bowl will hold items that you want to buy this month. LATER is for anything that requires saving for more than a month.

ARTICLES: “What The Average Teen Buys” page 3 “spending now” page 2 GOAL: Help your child analyze his or her own spending habits.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine ((www.scholastic.com/mck/parents), “The Power of Advertising” worksheet TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

get ready Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about personal spending and impulse purchases.

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine and “The Power of Advertising” worksheet on page 4 of this PDF for your child or open them on your computer or tablet.

3

activity

get ready

1. Ask your child what he or she thinks the average teen spends his or her own money on. Make a list together, then rank them from “most popular” to “least popular.”

Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about creating a financial plan.

2. Open the Money Confident Kids magazine and look at the “What the Average Teen Buys” chart on page 3.

Compare the percentages and items on the chart to your list. Discuss.

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine or open it on your tablet or computer.

3. R ead the “Spending Now” article on page 2 of the magazine together. Then open “The Power of Advertising” worksheet (on the back page of this guide) and explain that you are going to be doing some simple observational research together.

1. B rainstorm a list of things that your child would like to be able to buy for himself or herself. Items should be a mixture of things that they can see themselves owning within two years (short-term), things they might want in 2–15 years (medium-term), and things that are 15-plus years on the horizon (long-term).

4. T ake your child to a shopping area (grocery store, mall, etc.) and sit quietly together for 10 minutes.

Observe the shoppers around you while completing the worksheet.

5. B ack at home discuss your observations and whether those observations will have an impact on the way that you and your child will shop in the future.

another idea Use the T. Rowe Price game, Star Banks Adventure, to practice setting goals! Get started by visiting www.starbanks.com to play it online.

Then ask your child to set a goal and play the first level of the game. At the end of level one, talk to your child about whether he or she did a “trade-off” and purchased a cheaper version of their goal (i.e., bought a used bike instead of a new one).

Can you and your child apply what he or she is learning in Star Banks Adventure to your personal spending goals?

Topic C:

Personal goals ARTICLE: “Twin Tales of Spending” page 3 GOAL: Help your child identify a goal and develop a financial plan.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

4

Topic D:

INFLATION

activity

ARTICLE: “THE VALUE OF MONEY” page 4 GOAL: Help your child understand how inflation affects the price of goods and services.

MATERIALS: The Value of Money” on page 4 of Money Confident Kids (www.scholastic.com/mck/ parents)

2. R ead the “Twin Tales of Spending” story from the magazine together. Ask questions such as: “Who had more money at the end of 10 years?” (Lauren) “How much did each girl put in the bank over 10 years?”

(Lauren contributed $12,000 and Cassidy contributed $3,600.) “Why did Lauren have more than the $12,000 she invested at the end of 10 years? (Both girls earned 7% each year in compound interest on the money they put in the bank.) “Did both girls achieve their goals by the end of the 10 years?” (Yes)

Preview the magazine and think about changes in the prices of products and services that you have observed over your lifetime.

3. N ow discuss this additional information about Cassidy’s and Lauren’s choices:

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine or open it on your computer or tablet.

• Lauren also wanted a gym membership as a teenager. She decided to join her school soccer team instead.

• Cassidy decided against a trip to Paris when she saw her sister’s new car. She bought a used car from her uncle instead.

Together discuss the choices and trade-offs both girls made. Would you or your child have made different choices? Apply this logic to examples of short- and long-term goals you discussed earlier.

another idea Review the “Getting to Your Goal” infographic on the back page of the magazine. Together, try to create a colorful infographic of your own using one goal of your child’s choice. Help your child think carefully about what he or she wants and what is needed to get there!

TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

3. S hare your own stories about how prices have changed within your lifetime. Do you remember the approximate cost of the following items when you were a child?

• Candy bar • Movie tickets • New car Use the inflation calculator here (http://www.bls.gov/ data/inflation_calculator.htm) to discover what an item costing $20 today would have been worth 50 years ago. Then look to see what an item that cost $2 in 1920 would cost today!

4. R ead the article “The Value of Money” and “Making Money” in the magazine. Talk about what you’ve learned. How does your understanding of inflation, asset allocation, and diversification affect how you and your child think about saving for long-term purchases like houses or college?

get ready

activity 1. T ake a look back in time! Can you and your child estimate the birth year of key people in your family?

Think about: • • • • • •

An infant sibling or cousin: Your child: You: Your parents: Your grandparents: Your great-great-grandparents:

These birth dates most likely spread from 2015 back to the 1880s. Back then, the electric lightbulb was a brand-new invention and a dozen eggs cost about 32 cents. A lot has changed between then and now!

2. L ook at the article “Six Families Budget Their Money, 1884” at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5754/ together and talk about the differences between life in 1884 and your life today. These fascinating portraits of family life were collected by the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1884 to show the range of family incomes and spending patterns within the working class.

Visit www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html#candybar together and talk about what you see. Explain that inflation (the increase in prices of products and services over time) causes money to lose some of its value over time.

5

activity

get ready

1. Ask your child what he or she thinks the average teen spends his or her own money on. Make a list together, then rank them from “most popular” to “least popular.”

Preview the magazine and think about interesting examples that you can share to support the conversation about creating a financial plan.

2. Open the Money Confident Kids magazine and look at the “What the Average Teen Buys” chart on page 3.

Compare the percentages and items on the chart to your list. Discuss.

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine or open it on your tablet or computer.

3. R ead the “Spending Now” article on page 2 of the magazine together. Then open “The Power of Advertising” worksheet (on the back page of this guide) and explain that you are going to be doing some simple observational research together.

1. B rainstorm a list of things that your child would like to be able to buy for himself or herself. Items should be a mixture of things that they can see themselves owning within two years (short-term), things they might want in 2–15 years (medium-term), and things that are 15-plus years on the horizon (long-term).

4. T ake your child to a shopping area (grocery store, mall, etc.) and sit quietly together for 10 minutes.

Observe the shoppers around you while completing the worksheet.

5. B ack at home discuss your observations and whether those observations will have an impact on the way that you and your child will shop in the future.

another idea Use the T. Rowe Price game, Star Banks Adventure, to practice setting goals! Get started by visiting www.starbanks.com to play it online.

Then ask your child to set a goal and play the first level of the game. At the end of level one, talk to your child about whether he or she did a “trade-off” and purchased a cheaper version of their goal (i.e., bought a used bike instead of a new one).

Can you and your child apply what he or she is learning in Star Banks Adventure to your personal spending goals?

Topic C:

Personal goals ARTICLE: “Twin Tales of Spending” page 3 GOAL: Help your child identify a goal and develop a financial plan.

MATERIALS: Money Confident Kids magazine TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

4

Topic D:

INFLATION

activity

ARTICLE: “THE VALUE OF MONEY” page 4 GOAL: Help your child understand how inflation affects the price of goods and services.

MATERIALS: The Value of Money” on page 4 of Money Confident Kids (www.scholastic.com/mck/ parents)

2. R ead the “Twin Tales of Spending” story from the magazine together. Ask questions such as: “Who had more money at the end of 10 years?” (Lauren) “How much did each girl put in the bank over 10 years?”

(Lauren contributed $12,000 and Cassidy contributed $3,600.) “Why did Lauren have more than the $12,000 she invested at the end of 10 years? (Both girls earned 7% each year in compound interest on the money they put in the bank.) “Did both girls achieve their goals by the end of the 10 years?” (Yes)

Preview the magazine and think about changes in the prices of products and services that you have observed over your lifetime.

3. N ow discuss this additional information about Cassidy’s and Lauren’s choices:

Print out a copy of the Money Confident Kids magazine or open it on your computer or tablet.

• Lauren also wanted a gym membership as a teenager. She decided to join her school soccer team instead.

• Cassidy decided against a trip to Paris when she saw her sister’s new car. She bought a used car from her uncle instead.

Together discuss the choices and trade-offs both girls made. Would you or your child have made different choices? Apply this logic to examples of short- and long-term goals you discussed earlier.

another idea Review the “Getting to Your Goal” infographic on the back page of the magazine. Together, try to create a colorful infographic of your own using one goal of your child’s choice. Help your child think carefully about what he or she wants and what is needed to get there!

TIME FRAME: Approximately 30 minutes

3. S hare your own stories about how prices have changed within your lifetime. Do you remember the approximate cost of the following items when you were a child?

• Candy bar • Movie tickets • New car Use the inflation calculator here (http://www.bls.gov/ data/inflation_calculator.htm) to discover what an item costing $20 today would have been worth 50 years ago. Then look to see what an item that cost $2 in 1920 would cost today!

4. R ead the article “The Value of Money” and “Making Money” in the magazine. Talk about what you’ve learned. How does your understanding of inflation, asset allocation, and diversification affect how you and your child think about saving for long-term purchases like houses or college?

get ready

activity 1. T ake a look back in time! Can you and your child estimate the birth year of key people in your family?

Think about: • • • • • •

An infant sibling or cousin: Your child: You: Your parents: Your grandparents: Your great-great-grandparents:

These birth dates most likely spread from 2015 back to the 1880s. Back then, the electric lightbulb was a brand-new invention and a dozen eggs cost about 32 cents. A lot has changed between then and now!

2. L ook at the article “Six Families Budget Their Money, 1884” at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5754/ together and talk about the differences between life in 1884 and your life today. These fascinating portraits of family life were collected by the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1884 to show the range of family incomes and spending patterns within the working class.

Visit www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html#candybar together and talk about what you see. Explain that inflation (the increase in prices of products and services over time) causes money to lose some of its value over time.

5

PARENT ACTIVITY GUIDE

NAME:

A supplement to Junior Scholastic

The Power of Advertising Retailers have lots of ways to try to get people to spend their money now instead of later. Spend 10 minutes observing carefully. Fill in this chart to help you remember what you saw. ®

Store Environment 1. Do you see signs that promote impulse purchases?

Describe them.

Customers 1. How many customers came into the store during your observation?

2. How many customers made a purchase?

3. Do you think customers were making impulse purchases? Why or why not?

4. Were you tempted to buy something at the stores?

Did you?

Did anything surprise you?

6

DEAR PARENT, Supplement to Scholastic Magazines. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. 0-545-84918-7 MONEY CONFIDENT KIDS is a registered trademark of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., 2014-US-6695

2. Is the merchandise arranged in a way that promotes impulse purchases (such as small items near the cash register)? Describe it.

presented by

Talking about family finances with your child may feel daunting, but the good news is that every day brings new opportunities to teach your child about both the mechanics of money and the values that guide your choices. You just have to take advantage of them! Your kids learn each time they see you buy groceries, open a bill, or pick up some takeout for dinner after a tiring day.

Of course, kids are ready for different types of information at different times, and this guide has been designed for families with middle school–aged children.

Here’s how this activity guide works: 1. Read this activity guide and take a look at the Money Confident Kids magazine available at www.scholastic.com/ MCK/parents.

2. Choose the topic(s) you’re most interested in discussing with your child.

3. Start with Star Banks Adventure. Then explore the other activities together.

Don’t be afraid to share stories about financial mistakes that you’ve made.

Your child can learn just as much from your missteps as your successes.

Additional Online Resources www.scholastic.com/MCK/parents DOWNLOADABLE PDFs • Money Confident Kids magazine • Language of Money glossary • Costly Crossword puzzle • Amazing Money Maze activity • Spending Tracker tool

STAR banks adventure Engage your child in this exciting game that teaches positive financial behaviors.

VIDEOS “What Kids Say About Money” videos

RESOURCES • College Savings Guide • 30 Days of Financial Fitness family activity • “Basic Concepts Children Should Know” article

This Parent Activity Guide and the Money Confident Kids magazine are also available online.

1