Money! Money! Helps With Math Skills
Written: Nov 11 '05
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Pros: Teaches the math skills of making proper change in a fun way for kids.
Cons: Adults are not as entertained.
The Bottom Line: To hone your child's money math skills, this game does its job in a way kids will like, but not quite love.
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| sgian's Full Review: Discovery Toys Money! Money! |
At a recent parent conference for my 3rd grade daughter, her teacher suggested that we do some more practice using money and making change at home. When I saw the Discovery Toys Money! Money! game, I seized the chance to disguise a little math practice as a game. I sat down with my 8 year old daughter and five year old son to play. The object of the game is to move your game piece around the board collecting as much money as possible by "doing chores" which they are paid for. The person who has the most money at the end of the game wins.My daughter jumped at the chance to be the banker for all of us, giving her lots of practice making the correct change.
On his turn, each player rolls the die and moves the correct number of spaces. On most of the spaces a chore is listed, along with the amount of money to be paid for it. For example, Make Breakfast: 33 cents; Pull Weeds: 22 cents; Wrap Gifts: 17 cents. After reading the chore and amount paid for it, the player spins a wheel telling whether they are allowed to make the amount with Any Coins, No Dimes, No Nickles, or No Quarters, giving an extra bit of challenge. An additional choice on the wheel, the Money! Money! Man will take all of the earned money for that chore away from you and put it in the "pot" at the center. Yes, there is also a space a player can land on to take all the money in the pot, a space for "Bank Exchange" where they can get their change consolidated into bigger coins or dollar bills.
My son needed quite a bit of help making the correct change, but by the end of the first round had learned the names of the different coins and even how many cents each they were worth. Since I really haven't done a lot of work with him on that before, I was pleased with what he had learned from the game. My daughter did well brushing up her skills with making change under a dollar, but her teacher had indicated that she really needed more help with larger amounts, say, figuring out how much change would be required for someone who bought an item which cost $2.73 and paid with a $10 bill. So this game was perhaps a bit too easy for the skills she needs to work on. But for kindergarten through 2nd grade, it seems to be very educational.
After we were finished with the first round, both kids wanted to play again. As for me, it wasn't that exciting for an adult. But the teacher in me (I am a former high school teacher, and a current preschool teacher) saw the educational merit in playing again, so of course we did. They had fun, and I know they both got something out of it in the process.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20.00
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
sgian
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Member: Suzanne
Location: Maine
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 58 members
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