Play Money

After we made the grocery store in our house, my daughter has gotten into paying for her groceries too.  Missed the in-home grocery store idea, check it out here.

So just a few weeks ago my daughter asked me for some play money.  Right now she plays with my old giftcards for her "credit cards", but she wanted some cash too for her and her friend that we had over.  So I grabbed a pencil, some paper and my scissors.  Within minutes I had made some play cash for them.  We even took it one step further and I grabbed a couple reciepts, (cash ones), and as they bought groceries they could pay for them and then get a reciept back.

Now I have to say that the ones I made them really did take a couple minutes and weren't as nice.  I later made these ones for future use.

Here's what you'll need: 

Paper (I used 8.5 x 11)
scissors or paper cutter
pencil
milk gallon lid

The Process:

1. Cut paper.  I cut my play bills 4" x 2".  This allowed me to get 10 bills/page.

2. Use a milk gallon lid to trace the middle circle.

3. Add the monetary value of your choice. (I chose $1.00, hoping to teach adding as I go).

4. Laminate (This is optional)**

**One way you can make it last a little longer would be to laminate them.  I have 2 ways that I laminate.**

1st: Cold Laminator
A woman who is close as family let me have hers that she wasn't using.  The replacement paper isn't that much and it really comes in handy for different home projects.  If you can invest it's worth it.

2nd: Packaging Tape 
Before I owned a cold laminator, I wanted to laminate different newspaper clippings (my husband was in the paper a lot), but didn't have access nor the funds to laminate.  I read somewhere about using packaging tape. It works really well, you just have to be careful and go slow.  Tape one side and then flip over and repeat.

Now for me, my daughter is still a toddler and so we lose a lot of toys and/or they are easily ruined.  With that, I didn't want to use supplies that cost more; however, you could easily use cardstock to make the paper a little heartier if you have older kiddos.

Or if you work at a daycare or school this is a great way to add some learning without breaking the bank.  I'm a former teacher so I completely understand spending your own money on supplies.  What I love about this is that 1 got 10 play bills out of one 8.5x11 paper.  

What are some ways you teach counting, or real life skills to your kiddos?



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