Financial Literacy Made Fun (2)

National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) has released a new online tool to recreate the experience of shopping in a real store and encourage children to learn while shopping. Created in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, "A Day at Dollar General: Learn While Shopping" makes learning financial responsibility and budgeting fun and engaging.

By expanding the definition of literacy to include smart financial habits, NCFL and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation are teaching children to make informed spending decisions that will help them reach their goals.

"A Day at Dollar General: Learn While Shopping" is tailored to families and children, providing them with a fun and interactive game that teaches good spending habits. The game has four sections that are quick and easy to complete. The subjects covered by the game are:

1.     Budgeting - teaches children to identify the difference between wants and needs and manage expenses within a certain income.
2.     Planning a shopping trip - encourages families to get in the habit of reading store advertisements, collecting coupons and making shopping lists to avoid impulse buys.
3.     Spending wisely - shares smart shopping strategies such as taking advantage of store specials and comparison shopping.
4.     Managing money - stresses the importance of factoring price into purchasing decisions and offers tips to make and reach long-term savings goals.

Families can complete the game in their homes or as part of a family-focused learning program, giving parents a forum to develop a deeper understanding of their own finances and share the lesson of smart money management with their kids in an engaging way. NCFL and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation expect to update the game on an ongoing basis to encourage sustained learning as children grow and face new and more difficult financial decisions.

Free Language and Early Literacy Materials

Washington Learning Systems is making available, at no cost, parent-child early literacy activities in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Somali, Burmese and Russian.

The development of these materials was supported in part by Grant H324M020084 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and by funding from Washington Learning Systems and the

W.K. Kellogg Foundation through the Great Start, Great Parents program at Calhoun Intermediate School District in Battle Creek Michigan.

Language and early literacy activities:  Free and Reproducible

Developed by Angela Notari-Syverson, Ph.D, and Judy Challoner, M.S.

Illustrations: Don Syverson

These materials include home and community activities for adults and young children (birth to five) that encourage early language and literacy development.  They are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.

Each of the activities includes an activity description, and hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate.  An activity checklist helps parents and caregivers notice their children's skills, and also cues adults to examine and grow their own interactions with children.

The materials are made available by Angela Notari-Syverson and colleagues, and may be copied and distributed as long as they are not sold.

To download materials go to http://www.walearning.com and click on the button that says "Literacy Resources" on the home page.  You will need to create a logon account using your email address and a password.

For questions please contact:

Mary Maddox
Washington Learning Systems

2212 Queen Anne Ave. No.   Ste. 726

Seattle, WA 98109

(206) 310-7401   FAX (206) 283-9243

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Literacy Zone Participants Receive Nutrition Certificates

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Monticello Literacy Welcome Center Ribbon Cutting

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