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Pre - K | Grades k - 3 | Grades 4 - 6
Children learn by talking with parents and teachers. They like to try new things and learn from many sources. Coupons can be a fun way to help a child learn to read better and gain knowledge of math, money and the calendar.
Listed below are some coupon related ideas to try as children grow. Best of all, everyday chores such as shopping with coupons can be turned into quality time and learning, while you save money!
Pre-K - Introduce reading as a source of pleasure and information.
Read colorful magazines, coupon inserts with your child.
Point out and name familiar things, and play a game to encourage the child to spot them first. Look for:
- Colors, name them
- Faces ("eyes," "mouth")
- People ("baby," "boy," "daddy")
- Animals ("dog," "cat")
- Fruits ("apple," "banana")
- Toys ("ball," "doll")
- Grocery items ("juice box," "Milk," "Cheerios(," "toothpaste")
Practice counting - look for and learn to recognize numbers, first single digits, then combinations ("a two and a five make twenty-five").
At the supermarket
- You have to exchange money to buy things.
- Name the things you buy.
- Let them hold your coupon organizer and eventually ask them to find the coupons you are looking for.
- Show them a coupon for what you want to buy and ask them to find it on the shelf. Start doing this when you are in the correct aisle; as they get older, ask them to look for it as you enter the supermarket. This really helps reinforce memory.
Grades K thru 3 - Introduce money, dates and reinforce reading.
Reinforce counting
- Look for numbers in magazines, coupon inserts.
- See who can find the biggest number. Count up to that number together - then by twos, by fives.
Talk about money.
- Where it comes from, how we get it, what it is for.
- Look at it, first in your pocket book. The look for "$" symbol in magazines and on coupons.
- Money is an excellent introduction to working with decimals.
- Talk about how to try and spend it wisely because it has to be earned. Perhaps they could earn money by doing special chores for you.
- By using coupons, we can pay less for items at the supermarket. This is saving money.
- Discuss giving them an allowance. What would they like to spend it on?
Look at coupons together.
- Find coupons for items they use, like to eat or drink.
- Talk about why companies use coupons to persuade you to buy their products.
- Look at the money saved written on each one. Try and match that, using coins from your purse.
- Start to add up how much you could save by using coupons this week. Compare that with their allowance. Don't be afraid to use a calculator.
Clip together, carefully - Children love to use scissors.
- Discuss why you are selecting the coupons you want to use. Is it to try a new product, to save money on something you always buy?
- Why do you choose one product and not another?
Look at dates
- Learn and repeat the months of the year and recognize the year we are in.
- Look at a calendar. What month are we in now? Find today's date on the calendar.
- Find the date written on a coupon, and then find it on the calendar. Count how many months, weeks, days can the coupon be used.
- Compare different expiration dates. Which coupon that you clipped lasts longest?
At the supermarket
- As you go in, ask them to find 2-4 items you are looking for by showing them the coupon. Remembering lists is a very important skill. Associating pictures and words with items reinforces reading skills.
Grades 4 thru 6 - People use math all the time
Coupons - Give them the responsibility for clipping!
- Offer to split the savings with them if they can work out how much you will owe them. Or, even better, offer to split the savings you actually make on your register receipt. That way, they will remind you to take the coupons to the store!
- Discuss what items you want them to look for, and why. (It is probably wise to go through the debris left behind, because they will never spot that new stain remover you want to try!)
- Discuss why companies offer coupons.
- Talk about double and triple couponing. Practice multiplication in your head.
- Ask them to file the coupons by category for you in your organizer.
At supermarket - create savvy shoppers!
Talk about why you choose which products to buy, what you consider to be important.
- Compare prices. Compare prices after using a coupon.
- Introduce the concept of unit cost. Are big boxes cheaper than small?
- Look at labels, especially for nutrition information.
- Discuss the environment and study recycling potential.
- Discuss percentage savings.
- If you use coupons on different sized boxes, which is the better buy? (You will need a calculator and patience for this!)
Teachers:
For a detailed lesson plan, send an email to us at national@couponmonth.com referencing "Lesson Plan" in the subject line.
