Teach Kids About Money

Learning about money is a foundational math skill and incorporating poems and songs can make it both engaging and memorable. Counting pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters teaches kids number sense and money math, while recognizing patterns in 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s strengthens skip counting and early addition skills.

Sometimes young kids don’t really understand all the excitement about MONEY, but they need to! These activities are all about making money math fun with poems and songs. Using a collection of printable poems and songs, you and your kiddo can explore different coin values, practice skip counting, and reinforce basic money math concepts in a playful way.

After reading and singing, take it a step further by incorporating hands-on activities like cutting out a piggy bank, sorting coins, and even acting out the poems for extra learning fun.

Teach Kids About Money: Fun Poems & Songs for Learning About Coins

What You Need

Print the Free Songs and Poems Worksheet (get it below). I love using bright white cardstock so the colors really pop!

Gather a few pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half-dollars. Have ten or more of each coin.

Find an old coffee can or any can with a plastic lid if you want to make and decorate your own piggy-bank.

Money Math Activities to Try at Home or in the Classroom

Skip Counting with Coins – Use real or play money to practice counting by 1s, 5s, and 10s. Lay out pennies, nickels, or dimes and chant along with a money poem.

Coin Sorting & Value Matching – Label the cups in a muffin pan (or disposable plastic cups) with coin names and values. Then have children sort a mixed pile of coins by matching them to their corresponding values and names.

Sing & Clap to Money Songs – Some kids learn better through kinesthetic activity. A great way to do this is to reinforce coin values and addition skills by singing money-themed songs while clapping to the beat, strengthening rhythm and retention.

Create a Piggy Bank Craft – Print, cut out and assemble the piggy bank and coins from the printable, then use it for a fun “save, spend, give” math discussion. I love using bright white cardstock so the colors really pop!

Make and Decorate a “Piggy Bank” – Using a cleaned out or new paint can (or other plastic or metal container with a lid) make a unique bank. We have a free printable sheet of money themed images (get it below) to help get them started.

If your child wants a literal “piggy bank” here is a wooden pig bank and a pink pig bank they might like. (and they can still decorate them if they want to).

Read books about Money- These are some of our kids’ favorites, but you may find others that work better for you. My First Piggy Bank, Berenstain Bears- Let’s Talk About Money (those Berenstain Bears have several books about money!), Little Critters- Just Saving My Money and The Coin Counting Book.

Read & Act Out Money Poems – After reading, encourage kids to act out the concepts—pretending to buy items or exchange coins to demonstrate understanding.

Record & Watch a Money Readings – Let kids record themselves reading or singing money poems and tongue-twisters from the printable. Watching their performance helps with fluency, confidence, and self-correction.

Coin Counting Challenges – Give kids a set of coins and ask them to make a specific amount (e.g., “How many ways can you make 25 cents?”).

Money Exchange Game – Trade pennies for nickels, nickels for dimes, and so on to show how smaller denominations add up to larger ones.

Play a Board Game about Money – You may already have a favorite, but if you’re looking for some new games to reinforce money concepts, here are some good ones: Clumsy Thief and Clumsy Thief Junior and Exact Change.

Have fun with your kiddos while reinforcing math skills and financial literacy. Make learning about money a fun and hands-on experience!

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