Kristina Halvorson's Parenting bag
My "Intentional Parenting" Bag of Tricks
My fabulous kids are 3 and 6. These are a few of the tools and resources I rely on in my day-to-day work as a mom who's trying to raise self-aware, empathetic, generous kids.

Moonjar
The Moonjar products help kids learn about the three things you can do with money: spend, save, and share. I bought one of their banks and gave it to my son when he turned 6, just before I started giving him a weekly allowance. He gets it, and he loves it.

More For Your Money: How to teach little ones about money basics

More For Your Money: How to teach little ones about money basics

Teaching kids about finances can be challenging. It seems little ones have an unlimited supply of questions, especially when it comes to money. There are some easy ways you can help your kids learn the basics.

Jessica Darrington, a single mother of two, says it seems like her children are always asking for something at the store – and that telling them no just doesn't work.

Community Credit Counseling's Dona Graves educates hundreds of people, including children, every year on personal finance. Graves says the first step is to explain to your kids why you cannot afford something – and give them concrete numbers. "As parents now, we have to be more open about the family budget and the family expenses and explain to our kids what we're doing -- 'look, mommy has to take this money out of the bank every month and make the house payment,'" said Graves.

Additionally, explaining your family's budget will help your kids understand why they cannot always have new things. And while you're at it, use the conversation to talk about wants versus needs and how savings is integral to your budget.

Darrington says she has told her children that they cannot have an item until they can save up enough money to buy it. Once they save the money, they can go to the store together and purchase it. Also, give your kids something tangible to work toward. Seeing the money will help them understand how it works, so do not use debit or credit cards all the time.
"If you're at the check-out counter, for example, and you're paying with a debit card, tell your children 'okay, I'm paying with a debit card, but it comes out of my bank account. So this isn't free money,'" said Graves.

Finally, sharing is an important lesson for kids. If you're not already doing it, teach your kids to give. Talk about a savings goal, and pick a charity together that your child can get excited about. In Darrington's family, they chose the Humane Society because of their dog Mimsy.

Lauren Lowrey

Jan 4, 2011

Never too early! First-graders learn money skills

Never too early! First-graders learn money skills
‘We’re changing lives,’ official says about Memphis program

The smart young savers in Kimberly Britt's first-grade class at Richland Elementary School in Memphis, Tenn., may not be able to spell "entrepreneur" yet, but she's teaching each one of them how to become one.

Budding restaurateurs, cat sitters and dog walkers, these 6- and 7-year-olds are also learning the difference between "needs vs. wants" and determining the "opportunity cost" of their economic decisions.

Watch Teaching Value of a Dollar video: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39420467/ns/today-money/

Britt reads a story about a young girl having to choose between using money she earned dog walking to buy a new vest or a bike. Camille Clippinger, 6, says she understands why the girl decided to just decorate her old vest so she could save the money for a shiny new two-wheeler.

"She didn't have enough money so she had to get one or the other," Clippinger says.
Clippinger and her classmates are learning the importance of saving, budgeting and entrepreneurship through a program called Smart Tennessee. In the past four years, the program has reached more than 70,000 students statewide in first through eighth grades.

"We're the only state that does a systematic, comprehensive approach starting in first grade, and going all the way up," says University of Memphis economist Julie Heath, who created the program. "I think we're changing lives."

Tennessee is one of only 13 states in the country that requires students take a personal finance course to graduate from high school. But Heath says it's important not to wait that long.

"We treat economic and financial literacy like reading literacy. You start early in the primary grades and build a foundation," says Heath. "Economic and financial literacy ... is not just an educational issue, it's an economic development issue."

Sharon Epperson
9/30/2010

Take a look at what the blogaholic said!

BYE BYE PIGGY BANK. HELLO MOONJAR MONEYBOX
I recently wrote a post on how to get your kids excited about fundraising and giving back to the community. Today I’m going to tell you exactly how we got Logan saving up for his favourite charities. Our secret? The Moonjar Moneybox.
This is a great tool for teaching kids about finances. It’s never too early to start talking to your kids about money and the importance of saving. In my opinion, the Moonjar Moneybox is the best place to start – earning its PTPA seal of approval.
The Moonjar is a set of three canisters that helps kids separate their money into categories: saving, spending and sharing.
This system helps kids learn how to budget (something even I could use some help with). It also comes with a passbook, which helps kids track their money by having them document what comes in, how it’s allocated, and what goes out (again, something I should really be working on myself). And finally it comes with a guide to help walk parents through talking to their kids about money (phew).
It’s a complete tool for teaching kids about finances and one that I think all kids should have. So many adults are atrocious at budgeting their money (think Til Debt Do Us Part) so kids should be taught the basics at an early age.
When we first sat down with Logan, he didn’t really have a good understanding of finances – I’m not sure how many six-year-olds do. That was until we received the Moneybox to test.When we gave him the Moonjar, he immediately wanted to put 90 per cent of his allowance into the sharing tin (bless his heart). While we want him to be generous, it wasn’t exactly a realistic financial plan for the long-term. We walked him through the guide and it helped him see how he should be prioritizing his money. We helped him set financial goals and discussed what he wanted to save up for as well as how much he should allocate to savings and charity. Suze Orman would be proud.
Now he has a better understanding of how finances work in the real world (instead of just passing GO and collecting $200) and it’s all thanks to the Moonjar Moneybox. I think I even learned a thing or two in the process.




Posted by The confessions of a blogaholic at Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Labels: moonjar moneybox, PTPA winner, review

Getting The Word Out!

Today was a great day for Moonjar! We started by opening the package with our new award from AEP (Association of Education Publishers). We won for our Classroom Kit and new math curriculum K-5. It is an amazing feeling to work so hard with our little team and then to watch as the larger world responds so positively to our work. Thank you AEP! We are so proud.

The next step today was an appearance on NEW DAY NORTHWEST talking about kids and money with our friend Sheri Storm from Verity Credit Union. It was so exciting to see the reaction from people who had never heard of a Moonjar Moneybox and once again to realize that our best marketing effort is through the kids and families who use the Moonjars.It is your stories that carry us on. I am always excited when a child comes into the office to get a Moonjar and he or she tells me why the Moonjar is important to him or her. Those stories are what we carry into the moments when we get to speak about money on television! Today I had the story of a little girl who wanted a Moonjar for the SHARE BOX. She wanted to share with her friend by getting her a new zoo pass. The passion she had for making sure her friend got to go back to see the penguins was inspirational to me. The other story I carried into this interview was about my daughter when she was almost 10 years and I brought home a Moonjar. She cut out about 20 pictures of a red car and taped those pictures all over her SAVE box as a visual goal for her savings plan. My daughter is almost 16 now and although it might not be a new car she could very well have saved enough to consider that conversation.

The third great moment today was when we took a look at a map of all the wonderful Credit Unions who reach out to teach kids about money. There are so many amazing efforts afoot to raise financially fit kids. We are proud to be among these forward thinkers. We signed up for the Jumpstart Educators Conference today which is a great place to learn all the latest steps in financial literacy on a governmental level. We are also preparing Standard Moonajrs to make a showing at the National Youth Involvement Board annual meeting later this month. This is a group that exsists to
share ideas around Credit Union Youth efforts. Today was a big day.

So as you enjoy the summer please remember to help us spread the word about Youth Financial Literacy and Moonjar! Thank you as always for your support!!

Moonjar on TV

Moonjar is going to be part of the PBS show BIZ KIDS!!

We are so excited that the producers of Biz Kids asked us for families who use the Moonjar to talk about money. The segment is about allowance and how a familiy works together and individually to create goals for the money and the family budget.

Please watch!
The Biz Kid$ episode with Moonjar and the Kerr Family, 304 - Where's My Allowance, airs this Saturday, April 24th at 10:30am on KCTS, channel 9.

We will have the segment on our site after it airs!!

How to Teach Your Kids to Save, Spend and Share in 2010

We were recently asked to give an update in the JUMP$TART NEWSLETTER and we said:

Imagine how different the economy would be today if every child knew the basic pillars of financial money management, saving, spending and sharing, as commonly as “stop, look and listen.”

For more than eight years, Moonjar (www.moonjar.com), the leading international provider of children’s financial literacy tools, has helped children and families learn the three basic principles of money management: saving, spending and sharing, through a line of creative products aimed at helping parents and children take the first steps towards a healthy financial future. We must not forget that our as role educators, business leaders, and parents is to provide students with the best of both worlds: a strong and challenging academic curriculum, and a full infusion of the 21st-century skills students will need to succeed.

Starting a conversation about money with kids can be tricky. We have developed six tips for parents to teach their kids to save, spend and share their allowances—even at a young age.
1. Start with a visual tool. Most children, beginning at age 4 or 5, are visual learners, so using a hands-on tool like the Moonjar Moneybox, a bank with three compartments—one each for saving, spending and sharing, can better help them learn responsible money management through critical problem solving.
2. Make money a “yes” conversation. Use pictures to help your kids visualize their goals and then prioritize what they are saving for, what they want to spend their money on, and with whom or with what they want to share their money.
3. Discuss wants vs. needs. As you set goals, identifying objects that represent “wants” and “needs” helps to overcome the desire for instant gratification.
4. Allow mistakes. Children, like adults, learn from making mistakes. From time to time, allow your child to buy a toy you believe will not be enjoyed very long, for example. Sure, they may be disappointed in a few weeks, but many lessons can be learned from this experience. Encourage them, without guilt, to plan their future purchases, weigh the cost and the benefit of their choices and to think twice next time, even sleep on it.
5. Encourage philanthropy. Help your children understand that they are part of a larger world community through discussions about sharing their money and/or donating time to causes of their choosing. Volunteering as a family is a great activity for all to participate, learn and grow.
6. Be a good role model. Make sure your children see you doing the things that you are teaching them. Let them in on your bill paying, savings and investment plans and charitable giving. Discuss your attitudes and philosophies about money and tell them your dreams for how your money can fuel your passions.