The Motley Fool - Foolanthropy Challenge

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Thank you so very much for your kindness and generosity. Every face lights up when a second grade teacher says, "Let's learn about money, honey!" Still, the reality is that there are a lot of tough concepts -- especially when children have minimal 'hands-on' opportunities to manipulate coins/bills and problem-solve themselves or limited exposure to literature about money. These challenges are compounded when the children may lack role models of fiscal responsibility. With the wonderful (and extensive) supplies you purchased for us we were able to do so many things and the children learned SO MUCH!

I've always recognized the importance of allowing the children to physically manipulate coins/bills to better understand money, but this was difficult with an entire class even with a decent bag of coins. Thanks to you, we were able to play "Show Me The Money" and "Calculate My Coins" without anyone having to "partner up" (share coins). During such activities, I direct the children to model a certain amount with their coins or tell how much I've displayed. This year, thanks to you, we had so much 'play money' to share that they were able to work individually and do very high values and practice showing the values in a variety of ways. I was also able to present coins for calculations on the magnetic chalk board, overhead projector, and document camera which thrilled them.

The children just loved the games, flashcards, puzzles and using the centers. One of their favorites were the Hot Dot flashcards. I already had several pens and flashcards, but they found the 'money cards' much more interesting than the addition and subtraction flashcards they've used prior to this. I loved this Hot Dot set because it not only asked the common "How much?" question, but asked children other 'real-life' questions such as 'What can you buy?" or "Which is worth more?" or "Find the same amount." They also used the "greater than, less than,&equal sign" to compare quantities of coins. This helped reinforce that it's not always the greatest number of coins that's worth the most -- it depends on WHICH coins you have. Although they all loved all of the games, I have to admit that I was bit surprised that it was two of my GIRLS who loved the "Sink My Ship Money Game" the most. (My class is 75% boys!) Another favorite was the listening center which engaged them as they used coins and dry erase markers to 'shop,' and 'save,' 'calculate coin equivalents of a dollar' and spend 'lunch money' with the prompting of the cassette tape. I was proud of how the children strengthened their computation and reasoning skills when it came to money, but I also wanted them to learn about fiscal responsibility. (If you don't earn/save money, you won't have much to calculate!) I knew they would love "Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money," as they've loved our other books about "The Pigs." However, they delighted me with how they tuned in and had insightful discussions and comments when I shared selections from "The Kids' Money Book" and "The New Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids."

I was pleased to see the impact of these books as the children developed more sense of saving their "Classroom Cash" and avoiding 'fees' until it was time for SHOPPING from our classroom store which carries well over 100 items. I've had a 'store' for years, but this year, thanks to you and the "Hands-On Money Kit", the children were able to manage their own individual cash accounts and each had their own money to shop with. Some (as you can see from the photos) had well over $10 to shop with and I went home with echoes of 'best teacher EVER' ringing in my ears. I pointed out to them that the quantity of money they had was all due to THEIR own choices.

You've made a tremendous difference in the lives of this wonderful group of children and I look forward to using ALL of these materials year after year to help other classes. Thank you! Bless you!”

With gratitude,

Ms. H.

I would like to thank you for all of the wonderful math resources we have received for our classroom. We have begun to use our money as part of a "class store" to purchase items. The students are having a great time while learning about the value of money. Without your generous donation we would not have this great opportunity. Our math chart is hanging up on our front board and we use it daily to learn all about numbers and complete a daily math question. We have also been able to utilize our math literature resources to enrich our curriculum. The students love hands-on activities and manipulatives.

We are so thankful that you took the time to read our proposal and fund our grant to empower our future mathematicians. It is so difficult to receive money for additional classroom resources in these economic times so donors like yourselves are especially important.

Our students and future students sincerely appreciate all that you have done for us!! We hope that you enjoy our pictures and thank-you letters and truly thank you!! Without donors, we would not have these wonderful resources our classroom so desperately needs to encourage children. Thank you once again.

”

With gratitude,

Teacher

Thank you and your readers so much for the Econ Alive! Materials.  It is a wonderful thing for you to have an annual "Foolanthropy."  Every year it seems our children are more and more economically illiterate, especially at a time when it couldn't be more clear that so much more needs to be done across the board among all grade levels to make sure people are educated about major financial decisions.  Since I teach primarily history, it is almost impossible for me to explain the decision making that has occurred without first teaching them a bit of economics.  I make it a point every year to teach my students about the stock market and the issues of the Great Depression.  However, the longer I teach the more I find other ways of incorporating economics into the curriculum.  As a class, every student participates in a mock stock market game to deepen their understanding of the business world around them.  I've also dealt with numerous questions on the current government stimulus package.  Without these materials it is every difficult for the average middle student to understand and comprehend fully the purpose and reasoning for such thing.  This economics series allows me to bring more current events into the classroom than I ever had before. 

My most heart felt gratitude is sent to you and your readers for being so generous with me and my classroom!  Economics and finance are one of the few areas that all students will need as a basic skill in life.  I hope that with these materials we can begin to get students realizing the importance of making good decisions and how their decisions making abilities will dictate many parts of their life. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Gambardelli

Thank you again for your generous support. The money games, puzzles, learning centers, and desk activities were so helpful in introducing the concept of financial literacy to my first grade students.

The children were delighted when the materials arrived and couldn't wait to open and enjoy them. Their excitement was contagious and our parent volunteers and I had almost as much fun teaching how to use the materials as the students did using them.

Not only were the materials extremely engaging, but they were effective teaching tools as well. I gave the students a pretest before we began our money unit and the average score was 56%. After only a couple of weeks of using the materials you provided the average score on the post test was 93%!

Not only did these positive experiences provide a solid foundation in financial literacy for this year's students, but having such well made and durable materials available to future students will provide similarly positive outcomes for future classes. Your concern and support is much appreciated.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Pearson

Thank you for your generous donation and for choosing our project to fund. We are very thankful for all of the supplies that were donated to our classroom.

My students have begun work on their "Fun with Finances" project. They are having a great time doing the research necessary to set up a budget, learn about tax, and finding out how banking works. The students are using all of the supplies- highlighters, poster board, lined paper, etc, to complete their projects as you will see in the pictures.

All of the students are engaged with the project and they are learning a lot about finances. We are so thankful you chose our classroom to donate to. Your donation has been put to good use and will continue to be! ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Jacka

Again, thank you so much for "making a change" in our classroom. The students love the games and play them often. It has helped them count the different types of coins and dollars. The students love the cash register. They have played with it so much that I must replace the batteries in it when I get back from the weekend. We have put price stickers on the vegetables for our store. Wow! They really got to see the value of money. We also have kitchen items that several of our students have played with. Many of my students are in foster care and I could not take photos of them as I would have liked. Just know that you have made a difference and I will use these items year after year.

I can't thank you enough.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. F.

Thank you so very much for the games and activities provided by you to enhance my students' mathematical skills and financial knowledge. Menu Math has been the biggest hit in the classroom as the students spend their money eating out and figuring out the correct change. Counting back change is definitely a life long skill and something that your generous donations have given them the opportunity to practice.

One student even asked to borrow a game for her Spring Break to practice counting change. She knows that this is an area she can strengthen and chose to use your game for this practice.

You have touched the lives of these students and incorporated fun into practice. We are so thankful for your efforts and donations. Thank you!!!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Adams