Diana Christine Blouin

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Diana Blouin

diana.c.blouin@wmich.edu

Ropes Lesson Plan

Instructor: Diana Blouin

Course Name: Family Life Education

Audience: Parents of children ages 6-10

Length of class: 3 hours

Lesson Name: Teach Your Children to be Money Wise: Set Up an Allowance System that Works for Your Family

Lesson Goal: Prepare parents and equip them with knowledge and resources necessary to develop and implement a customized allowance plan for their children.

OBJECTIVES:

RESEARCH: Parents will view provided links and materials regarding young children (ages 6-10) and money

EVALUATE & ASSESS: Parents will weigh the pros and cons of allowances with/without chores as well as other varying types of incentives and saving/spending plans. They will also assess the following: child’s skill and ability, age appropriateness and family priorities and values.

DESIGN & CREATE: Parents will design and create an allowance and savings system for their children

REVIEW (15 minutes)

Materials: Computer, Power Point Presentation, large screen

Q: “Who already has an allowance system in place at home? How did your parents teach you to save and spend money? Was it successful? Why or why not?”

Brief class discussion

Display main objectives (power point projection)

OVERVIEW (5 minutes)

Materials: Handout containing step-by-step process for lesson
and continued P.P. presentation

Address main points of previous discussion and tie into lesson goal and objectives

Go over objectives

Reiterate that parents will leave with a “finished and working plan”

PRESENTATION (15 minutes)
All parents take 5 minutes to read the article, “Kids and Money: The importance of teaching early”
Q: “What points does the author make?”
Q: “What information was particularly interesting or new to you?”
Q: “Why is it important to teach young children about the value of money?”
Q: “What teaching tools/plans did the author suggest?”
Q: “Why are allowances one of the best tools to use to create good money habits?

Discuss facts from article:

Debt
Argument over allowance-paid chores
Who benefits from an allowance system in families?

TECHNOLOGY PRESENTATION (5-15 minutes)

Materials: Continued P.P. presentation, handout and internet access

Q: (previous knowledge) Who is NOT familiar with E-Learning?
Demonstrate how to access the presentation through E-Learning, if necessary
Demonstrate clicking on links (contained in presentation) to review articles
Q: (previous knowledge) Who is NOT familiar with searching the internet?
Demonstrate using a search engine, such as Google to search out further information, if necessary

RESEARCH EXERCISE (60 minutes)

Materials: Research handout, all previous materials & computer lab

Begin by moving into the computer lab
Give out the research handout and explain how it will be followed
Questions on the handout will require reviewing specific links as well as other found information related to allowances or money and kids.
Parents will be required to answer the questions provided and list pros and cons of allowance for chores
Parents will also review templates and examples of allowance plans
Inform the parents that their research and the questions on the handout will help them develop their own plan
Move around the lab, assist and answer questions

"CREATE A PLAN" EXERCISE (60 minutes)

Materials: Computer lab, P.P. presentation, printers

Parents will brainstorm and answer the questions located in the P.P. presentation by typing directly onto the slides
By answering the questions regarding values, priorities and financial ability, parents will better understand what they want out of an allowance plan
The parents will choose an allowance system for their children based on their research and brainstorming. This can be an existing model they found during this lesson or something created especially to fit their needs.
Parents are encouraged to go back and review some of the previous links and other websites
Parents will create a Word document describing:

How will allowance be implemented in the home?
List the chores, if any, that are involved
How will savings and spending be monitored?
How much? How often?

Parents will print out their plan and briefly share the basics of their plan if they choose. No need to discuss amount of allowance to class.

HOMEWORK:
Have children create their own banks using materials around the house. Items such as canning jars, oatmeal containers and butter containers can serve as useful piggy banks. This gives children a sense of ownership in the process.

Resources

Tips / Pros and Cons / General Info

http://www.kidsmoney.org/allart.htm#Fea1

http://www.kidsmoney.org/allart.htm#YM

http://life.familyeducation.com/allowance/jobs-and-chores/29551.html

http://life.familyeducation.com/allowance/parenting/36441.html?detoured=1

http://life.familyeducation.com/jobs-and-chores/parenting/36443.html

familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,65-14945,00.html

Ways for kids to earn money

http://life.familyeducation.com/money-and-kids/money-management/47555.html?detoured=1

How much should he/she get?

http://life.familyeducation.com/allowance/money-and-kids/48026.html?detoured=1

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/toolsandcalculators/l/bl_allcalc.htm
(allowance calculator)