Teach kids about money using board games!

Turns out games can be fun AND educational! 

Not sure about you but I have spent a lot of time and money on “educational” board games for my lessons on personal finances, when all along the same concepts I wanted to express can be done with a couple of classics (aka no time wasted reading complicated game instructions) - Life and Monopoly! 

I have been know to use these board games for various lessons or units that involve financial decisions or life skills for pretty much any age group. My seniors get a “game day” when we complete our unit on budgeting and family financial planning. My 8th graders really got a lot out of this when I was teaching them “the value of a dollar.” Not the simple concept to grasp, and you can only tell them how much gas cost when you where a kid so many times… 

Here is the generic worksheet I used. I often changed or added questions based on what we were doing in class specifically, but this is a good place to start! 


Pro Tips: 

• Explain the concept of each game before they begin (helpful for newbies) 
• Also helpful for newbies- require them to play with someone who has played it before 
• Put the games on tables and have them choose groups of 3 to 5 people 
• More than 6 in a group is too many for one class period - unless you are blessed with 80mins 
• Give them 5-10mins for clean up and worksheets if they did not complete them as they played Speaking of money lessons, I also bought all my games for a steal at various thrift stores! 
• These classics also go on sale a lot during the holiday shopping season! 
• If I have a group that seems to struggle/seems like trouble, or a group I enjoy spending time with I usually play with them as well - it’s a great way to interact and connect with them!