For many parents, working remote has included wrangling kids who converted to distance learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as students transition to summer, parents are relieved of the duty to oversee schoolwork, but since many traditional summer programs have been cancelled, they still have to find ways to keep kids engaged until the fall.
As parents search for alternative options to keep kids busy, The Federal Reserve banks have developed virtual kid-friendly financial programs through the summer.
The St Louis Fed is hosting a personal finance virtual summer camp for grades 3-5 and 6-8. Spearheaded by its economic education team, the camp offers thorough videos, Q&As and online modules to assist campers with essential personal finance concepts, money transactions, how to evaluate everyday decisions and how savings and credit is used. The camp is available any time from May 20 to August 14, and is designed to last approximately one week.
Kids of all ages can check out the virtual St.Louis Fed’s Economy Museum, which is now featuring 100 exhibits through interactive displays, games, sculptures and videos.
The Kansas City Fed is offering online ebooks for elementary students such as Financial Fables. For middle and high school students, the No-Frills Money Skills video series covers a variety of personal finance topics including compound interest, 401(k)s, and understanding the value of stocks, bonds, and insurance.
For parents who would prefer a print version of these resources, The Cleveland Fed has published Great Minds Think: A New Guide to Money, a free, self-directed activity book that introduces basic concepts in finance, and helps students understand how to think critically about money decisions. The activity booklet can be downloaded and printed in both English and Spanish, and can be ordered for free if parents cannot access a printer.
Need more ideas? Check out the Currency Academy for art, science, and history through the lens of money, and educational comic books from the New York Fed, which teach students basic economic principles as well as the Federal Reserve’s role in the nation’s economy.
A list of all the Federal Reserve’s free educational resources can be viewed at https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/
