H.I.P Pocket Change

 Money is a such a important and vital concept we all must learn in school. However, thinking back to my education learning about money was never really a fun topic to learn about. Maybe a lesson or two included using fake money but for the most part we counted change and dollar bills that were printed out on worksheets. Learning about money could really be quite an interesting topic if 

Our government has this really awesome interactive website for children to learn money in all sorts of engaging ways. The website is called United States Mint- H.I.P Pocket Change Site. There are several different activities available on the website such as scavenger hunts, designing your own coin, a library that explains all the various coin programs, and countless educational videos regarding the history of currency in America... just to name a few. 

Educational videos offered on the website consist of child specific videos discussing concepts such as the making of coins, coins in outer space, mint tours, coin design, the relation of STEM to coins, and the history of coins. Each topic area contains a few short videos to view that quickly explains currency in relation to that given topic. 

There are several free games available on the website as well. Games can be played individually or educators can choose to incorporate the games into their lesson plans. The website frequently adds new games as well so teachers can vary videos included in instruction and students can play new games whenever they choose. 

Even though at first glance this website seems almost too fun to be academic, it provides an incredible educational platform that is entertaining and engaging for students. It also provides teachers with countless resources to keep their students interested when teaching about currency. I am a firm believer in adding fun and relatable ideas into lessons as frequently as possible. Not only does this make lessons more interesting for the students, it's a fun way for the teachers to incorporate technology into their classroom as well. This website does an great job of incorporating fun in the very important learning lessons about money. 

Check out the link below!

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/coins