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Financial literacy activity

Digital Money and Banking

Learn that money can be real (coins and paper) or digital (on a screen). Practice 'buying' things with pretend digital money using paper 'screens.'

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Learn that money can be real (coins and paper) or digital (on a screen). Practice 'buying' things with pretend digital money using paper 'screens.'

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Show real money: coins and bills. Then show a phone screen with a number on it. Both represent money!
  2. Draw a phone screen on paper. Write a number on it: that's your 'bank balance.'
  3. Practice buying: draw an item and its price. Cross out your old balance and write the new one after 'paying.'
  4. Discuss: when mom or dad tap their phone to pay, money moves from their account to the store's account.
  5. Draw a picture showing both ways to pay: with coins and bills, and with a phone or card.

Learning objectives

  • Understand that money exists in physical and digital forms
  • Practice subtracting a price from a balance
  • Know that digital payment moves money between accounts

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Explore how banks work. Learn that banks keep your money safe and help it grow. Practice deposits, withdrawals, and checking your balance.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Set up a pretend bank: one person is the banker with a ledger, the other is the customer.
  2. Practice a deposit: bring play money to the bank. The banker adds it to your account balance.
  3. Practice a withdrawal: ask for some money back. The banker subtracts from your balance.
  4. Learn about interest: the bank pays you a tiny bit extra for keeping your money there! Add 1 cent for every 10 cents stored.
  5. Create a bank account register: record deposits, withdrawals, and your running balance.

Learning objectives

  • Explain the basic function of banks: safekeeping money
  • Practice deposits, withdrawals, and balance tracking
  • Understand that banks pay interest on savings

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Study modern banking: checking vs. savings accounts, debit cards, online banking, and how digital transactions work. Set up a mock bank account.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Learn the difference: checking accounts (for spending, use a debit card) vs. savings accounts (for saving, earns interest).
  2. Explore how a debit card works: it's connected to your bank account. When you swipe, money goes from your account to the store.
  3. Set up a detailed mock bank account: create a register tracking 10 transactions (deposits, purchases, fees, interest).
  4. Study online banking: look at a parent's bank app together (with permission). Identify: balance, transactions, transfers.
  5. Calculate interest: if you have $100 in savings at 2% annual interest, how much do you earn in a year? In 5 years?
  6. Compare: why is cash different from digital money? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish between checking and savings accounts
  • Track transactions in a bank register
  • Calculate simple interest over multiple years

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Learn to spot phishing scams using PRINTED practice materials only — no real or fake websites. Real people lose real money to phishing every day, and a few sharp habits can protect you for life.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Work only with PRINTED materials: a 'practice bank' worksheet and a printed mock bank statement that a parent prepares. Do NOT visit any website, real or fake, for this activity.
  2. Read 3 printed phishing email examples (parent prints them out ahead of time — no need to open any links or visit any sites).
  3. Identify the red flags in each: urgent language, weird sender address, asking for passwords, generic greeting, suspicious links.
  4. Create a 'Phishing vs. Legit' decision tree with 5 yes/no questions.
  5. Compare two PRINTED mock bank pages side by side: one clearly labeled 'PRACTICE BANK — LEGIT' and one labeled 'PRACTICE BANK — PHISHING IMITATION.' Spot 5 visual differences.
  6. Why does this matter? Real people lose real money to phishing every day — but you practice this skill on PAPER, never on a live site.

Learning objectives

  • Identify common red flags in phishing emails using printed examples
  • Build a decision tree for evaluating suspicious messages
  • Compare a mock 'legit' and mock 'phishing' bank page on paper to build visual pattern recognition — without ever visiting a real or fake website

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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