This past year I started a classroom economy and I can not tell you how great it worked! The kids really responded to it and it guided our behavior all year. I made several tweaks throughout, so let me tell you what I learned.
- Money motivates kids.
- I spent too much money on items for auction days.
- Auctions were exciting and a great way to instill money management.
- I didn't do auctions often enough.
- Managing the money was the hardest part.
- Having the kids pay rent is crucial. I am thinking of adding something to that.
I modeled my classroom economy after Rafe Esquith's classroom economy that you can read about in his book There Are No Shortcuts. Vanguard, a leading investment management company, teamed up with Mr. Esquith to provide free resources to teachers grades K-12. Visit their website:
MyClassroomEconomy.org They have money to print, guidelines for setting things up, employment applications, and much more!
How I will set up my classroom economy this year:
- Print money to have on hand and set up my class on MyKidsBank.org
- Prepare a list of job descriptions and copy employment applications
- Introduce our classroom economy on the first day of school - students must fill out applications for the job they want
- Copy and pass out a list of bonuses and fines
- Decide if I want to give out checks every other week or if I want to do it electronically through My Kids Bank
- Tell kids they will be paying rent every other week when they get paid. Desk = $400 Chair = $300 iPad = $1,000
- Begin the year by being generous with bonus money to encourage good behavior
These are my classroom jobs. I want to have 3 bankers, 3 clerks, 2 custodians, etc. Last year I started strong with jobs and then I found myself not putting as much emphasis on them. That was a mistake. The jobs really make a difference!
I have found that keeping track of things electronically works best for me. I tried multiple ways of keeping track of fines and bonus without having to handle money all day, but nothing really worked. My Kids Bank is a great FREE resource! The kids can make deposits and withdrawals, so they are still learning that part. I can keep it open on my iPad and assign bonus money or fines as needed throughout the day.
Click HERE for some resources. You will get an employment application, blank checks, and my list of bonus money opportunities and fines. This is the pdf file. Email me if you would like the editable version.
What do you think?