Ask Amy: What Are the Best Money-Focused Spring Break Activities?

A young boy opens his savings account at Young Americans Bank.

Spring Break is coming up quickly, and many parents are scrambling to find fun activities for the entire week.

Although a day of skiing and a trip to the Denver Zoo are fabulous, be sure to add in activities that will keep kids sharp during their week off.  If you have them think about money and finance, which includes lots of math skills, the jump back into school won’t be quite so abrupt.

Best money activities in town

We’ve put together a list of the top activities around Denver to do with your kids to keep them thinking about money.  Here they are:

1. Take your kids to the Denver Mint. These 30 minute tours are free and fun.  Tour guides talk about bank robberies, making money from different materials, mistakes in printing and lots more.  Make a reservation here.  The Mint also provides great additional resources here.  MileHighMamas says this is one of the top five great ideas for Spring Break!
2. Go to the Federal Reserve. This one hour tour is also free.  While there, you can visit the Money Museum and learn about the role the Federal Reserve plays in maintaining the country’s money supply.  Make a reservation here.
   

   A young bank customer is helped at the ATM by her mom.

3. Take kids to the bank with you.  If you have to swing by the ATM or talk to your banker, take your kids with you.  Allow them to watchyour transactions so they can see the process.
4. Open an account for them at Young Americans Bank.   We offer the only bank in the world just for kids!  That means that all our transactions take place directly with our youth.  We take extra time to explain concepts like interest and withdrawals.  Get the details on opening an account here.
5. Take a Saturday Money Matters Class.  We have plenty of free one-hour classes throughout the next few weeks.  Classes are for various age groups and cover different money topics, from coin recognition for little ones, to bugeting and investing for teens.  Attendees receive $5 just for coming to the class!  Register here.
6. Enroll in a Summer Camp.  Young Americans offers financial literacy summer camps for students who have finished 2nd-7th grades.  During these week-long camps, they will learn about budgeting, saving, sharing and spending.  Plus, depending on the camp, they could start a business, run a town or rule the world.  Register here.
7. Allow kids to pay for an outing or make the money transactions for the day. Handling money is a good first step in recognizing cost.  If you head to the grocery store or pick up coffee, hand over the cash or help them make your debit card transaction.  They’ll see the process of paying for items and begin to understand value.
8. Check out some online resources for money education.  You can explore MyMovey.gov, which has a whole section on youth-focused resources.  Or start playing a computer game with your kids called Planet Orange.
9. Download some great apps to provide entertainment and education at the same time.  Try these out:

• P2K Money (free)
• Kids Money (free)
• Save! The Game (free)
• Bank of Mom ($1.99)
• Allowance: Your Pocket Money ($3.99)

Do you have any other suggestions to share with our community?  Tell us below!