BLING IS UR THING Financial Literacy through Art for Kids
Toronto, ONTARIO Canada
September 24, 2012
Overview:"BLING IS UR THING" is a Financial Literacy Program that teaches and explains the "World of Money" using the Art forms of Dance, Culinary Arts, Drama, Film Making, Architecture, Fashion, Literature, Music and Visual Arts to empower Children living in priority neighbourhoods from Gr. 4 - 8. "BLING IS UR THING", unlocks the mysterious world of money and finance by capitalizing on childrens’ desire to learn and understand why and what "all the talk" is about.
Through engaging art forms students will understand how expressions such as "Time is Money", "In the Red", "Haves, Have-Nots and Have Yachts" and "Money doesn't grow on Trees" directly apply to them. Creative artistic projects in each of these fields will demonstrate and apply their learnings about: personal budgeting, credit cards,bankruptcy,insurance, debit, mortgages, stocks, loans, depreciation, value, risk, protecting one's identity, pin numbers etc.
Using the culturally rich and diverse city of Toronto as our classroom, "BLING IS UR THING" partners with culturally diverse community artists as well as financial and economic leaders to boil down complex structures. In addition to learning about contemporary applicable aspects of money, “BLING IS UR THING”, will be introduced the Global Historical Development of money as we know it and its Social Justice implications on our societies and environment. The stories of the Rothchilds, Medici's, Fransico Pizzaro, John Law and Atahuallpa will open up a past, that is very relevant today.
For over a decade, I have been integrating Financial Literacy into all of my lessons because my students demand to know more. They want to know what is going on. They see and hear about money everyday in the media and at home, and yet few are giving them the "straight goods" about this still taboo subject.
"BLING IS UR THING", guarantees that the leaders of tomorrow have a deep personal understanding of the world of finance and money, so that they are empowered to make wise financial choices.
BLING IS UR THING Financial Literacy Through Art
♥ Money, it is all of our Business ♥
Bread, cash, dough, loot, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: CALL it what you like, money matters. To Christians, the love of it is the root of all evil.
To generals, it is the sinews of war; to revolutionaries, the shackles of labour.
But what exactly is money?
Is it a mountain of silver, as the Spanish conquistadors thought?
Or will mere clay tablets and printed paper, suffice?
How did we come to live in a world where most money is INVISIBLE.
Little more than numbers on a computer screen?
Where did money come from? And where did it all go? *1
Through a rich global and historical perspective, BLING IS UR THING” will provide the tools to ponder through ART, the answers to these questions.
BLING IS UR THING, is a game that allows children to learn to play with money.
The classroom of Toronto*2 , provides visuals to make the virtual INVISIBLE world of money, tangible. The knowledge and appreciative of the world of finance will empower your children to become their own “lil’Financial Advisor.”
Whether we like the way our world runs its Financial Structures or not, our children deserve to understand how they work.
As adults we wish that we had learned about money sooner, let’s make that wish a reality for our children.
AVIVA’S COMMUNITY FUND will launch its online voting competition tomorrow.
Please Vote…Frequently For the Next TWO WEEKS!
First Round Ends October 15th.
I will be vigilant in sending reminders.
1. Niall Ferguson THE ASCENT OF MONEY: A Financial History of the World pg. 1 2009
2. similar to the D2A's Program