Pretend shop and a wait jar (ages 3 to 5)
At this age money is still a mystery: it comes from somewhere, it buys things, and it makes you wait. In twenty minutes you'll play shop with sticker money and set up a jar for one small thing worth waiting for.
- Time
- 20 min
- Cost
- $0
- Ages
- 3 to 5
- Where
- Living room floor
What you need
- A sheet of small stickers or paper circles for pretend money
- 5 to 8 toys or empty boxes for the shop, plus a few real coins for sorting
- Index cards or tape for price tags, and a marker
- A plastic jar or can with a lid
Before you start
- Coins are a choking hazard. Most children who die from choking are under 5. Do the coin sorting with you right there, and put the coins away afterward.
- Watch the older sibling. Older brothers and sisters sometimes hand small objects to younger ones. Keep real coins at the table.
Steps
- Talk about jobs. Name two jobs you both see every day, tell them yours, and ask what they would sell.
- Sort the coins. Sort a few coins into piles by kind, count each pile, then put the coins away.
- Open the pretend shop. Put sticker prices on a few toys, give them stickers to spend, then swap who is the shopkeeper.
- Name needs and wants. Sort things at home into needs and wants, and name one fun thing that costs nothing.
- Start the wait jar. Label a jar Save, pick one small want, and add a sticker each time they help out.
If it stalls
- If they want everything in the shop, say: "You have ten stickers. What's the best way to spend them?" Then let them choose and live with it.
- If they lose interest in the jar, shrink the goal. A sticker chart with three boxes shows progress in a day or two.
Stickers in the jar
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date