Financial literacy activity
Real Estate Tycoon
Build houses from paper and blocks! Learn that people live in different types of homes: apartments, houses, and farms. Some people own their home and some pay rent.
Materials and setup
- paper houses
- play money
- dice
- markers
- calculator
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Build houses from paper and blocks! Learn that people live in different types of homes: apartments, houses, and farms. Some people own their home and some pay rent.
Steps
- Build 3 different homes from blocks or paper: a small house, a tall apartment, and a farm.
- Place toy figures in each home. Ask: 'Who lives here? What is their home like?'
- Explain: 'Some people own their home. Some people pay money each month to live there — that is called rent.'
- Play: figures 'pay rent' by giving coins to the building owner each round.
- Ask: 'Which home would you like to live in? Why?'
Learning objectives
- Identify different types of housing (house, apartment, farm)
- Understand the basic concept of rent as paying to live somewhere
- Express preferences and reasoning about different living situations
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Become a landlord! Build paper houses, charge rent, and collect coins each month. Learn about owning property and earning money from it. Track your rental income!
Steps
- Build 3 paper houses and label them with monthly rent: House A = 2 coins, House B = 3 coins, House C = 5 coins.
- Place tenants (toy figures) in each house. Each month, they pay rent. Collect the coins!
- After 4 months, count your total rental income.
- Oh no! House B needs a repair (costs 4 coins). Subtract the repair from your income.
- Discuss: 'Owning a building can earn you money, but you also have to fix things when they break.'
Learning objectives
- Track rental income over multiple months
- Subtract expenses (repairs) from income to understand profit
- Understand that property ownership involves both income and costs
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Run a real estate business! Buy properties, set rent prices, handle maintenance, and calculate whether renting or buying is a better deal. Compare the costs of renting versus owning over time.
Steps
- Set up 4 properties with purchase prices (50, 80, 100, 150 coins) and monthly rent values (5, 8, 10, 15 coins).
- Start with 200 coins. Decide which properties to buy. You can buy more than one if you can afford it.
- Collect rent each month. But each month, roll a die: on a 1, one property needs a 10-coin repair.
- After 12 months, calculate total income minus total expenses (purchase price + repairs). Did you make a profit?
- Compare: a renter pays 10 coins/month for 12 months = 120 coins, owns nothing. A buyer pays 100 coins once, collects 0 rent but owns the property worth 100 coins. Who is better off?
- Discuss: 'When does renting make sense? When does buying make sense?'
Learning objectives
- Calculate profit from rental properties over time including expenses
- Compare the long-term financial outcomes of renting versus buying
- Make investment decisions by analyzing cost, income, and risk
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Dive into real estate economics. Analyze property values, calculate mortgage payments, understand equity, and evaluate real estate as an investment. Compare to other investments and explore how location affects value.
Steps
- Research: What is a mortgage? Use example numbers that are closer to today's market. If a house costs $350,000 and you pay 20% down ($70,000), you borrow $280,000 at about 6.5% interest for 30 years. Monthly payment is roughly $1,770 (use an online mortgage calculator to confirm).
- Calculate total cost: $1,770 x 360 months ≈ $637,200 in payments + $70,000 down ≈ $707,000 for a $350,000 house! Interest nearly DOUBLES the cost over 30 years.
- Equity: after 10 years, roughly $212,000 total has been paid, but only about $42,000 went to paying down what you borrowed (the rest, around $170,000, was interest). You own around $112,000 of a $350,000 house (down payment + principal paid). The bank owns the rest.
- Compare: renting at $2,000/month for 10 years = $240,000 with no ownership. Buying (above): about $212,000 in payments but you have around $112,000 in equity. Which is better?
- Location analysis: the same house could cost $250,000 in one town and $700,000 in another. Why? Research 3 factors that affect property value (schools, jobs, commute, supply/demand).
- Create a real estate investment plan: which type of property would you buy, where, and why? Calculate expected rental income versus costs.
Learning objectives
- Calculate mortgage payments and total cost including interest over time
- Understand equity and how it builds through mortgage payments
- Evaluate real estate as an investment by comparing costs, income, and appreciation
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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