Financial Literacy Lesson Plan for Kindergarten (with Picture Books)

Quick answer: A kindergarten financial literacy unit works best as five short lessons, one picture book a day, each 20–30 minutes: (1) where money comes from, (2) saving, (3) wants versus needs, (4) community helpers and trade, (5) earning with a class store. Read the book, ask three questions, then do one hands-on activity with coins, jars or a pretend shop. The Teddy Volume 1 and Volume 2 sets cover every lesson ($69.99 each, free US shipping).

This free unit is written for kindergarten teachers, homeschool parents and pre-K classes ready for a stretch. It uses read-alouds because five-year-olds learn money ideas best inside a story, then through their hands.

We run Caring Parents’ Choice, a small family store that sells the Teddy books by Ryan Cohen. You can teach this unit with other money picture books too; we list alternatives for each day.

Days 1, 2 and 4

Teddy Volume 1, five-book set

5 hardcovers · $69.99 · free US shipping

See Volume 1 →

Days 3 and 5

Teddy Volume 2, five-book set

5 hardcovers · $69.99 · free US shipping

See Volume 2 →

Unit at a glance

Grade	Kindergarten (ages 5–6); adaptable for pre-K and 1st grade
Length	5 lessons, 20–30 minutes each
Themes	Earning, saving, spending choices, sharing and trade, matching the early-grade themes of the National Standards for Personal Financial Education
Vocabulary	money, coin, work, earn, save, spend, want, need, goal, trade, customer
Materials	Picture books, real or play coins, three clear jars, paper, crayons, sticky notes, toy items with price tags

Learning objectives

By the end of the unit, students can:

Say that people earn money by working.
Explain that saving means keeping money now to buy something later.
Sort pictures into wants and needs.
Name a community helper and the job they do.
Name a penny, nickel, dime and quarter and pay for an item in a pretend store.

The five lessons

Day	Big idea	Read-aloud	Activity
1	Money comes from work	Teddy Goes to Work (alt: Lemonade in Winter)	Draw a grown-up at work; share “what do they do, who do they help?”
2	Saving for a goal	Teddy and the Piggy Banks (alt: Just Saving My Money)	Decorate a goal card and tape it to a class savings jar
3	Wants versus needs	Teddy Says Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees (alt: Those Shoes)	Picture sort on the carpet: two hoops labeled WANT and NEED
4	Helpers and trade	Teddy and the People Who Make the World Go Round (alt: A Chair for My Mother)	Sticky-note “thank you” wall for community helpers
5	Earning and spending	Teddy and the Corn Stand (alt: Bunny Money)	Class store: half the class sells, half buys with 10¢ each, then switch

How to run each lesson

Hook (3 min). Show one real object: a coin, a jar, a price tag. Ask, “What is this for?”
Read-aloud (8–10 min). Pause twice to ask, “What do you think will happen?”
Three questions (3 min). What did the character want? What did they choose? What would you do?
Activity (10 min). The hands-on task from the table.
Exit ticket (2 min). Thumbs up or down, or point to the right picture.

Check for understanding

Skill	Quick check
Earning	“How do grown-ups get money?” Student says work or a job.
Saving	Student points to the jar and says what the class is saving for.
Wants and needs	Sorts 4 of 5 pictures correctly.
Coins	Names at least three coins.

Differentiation and family connection

Pre-K: skip coin names; focus on “save” and “share.”
Advanced students: add simple prices up to 10¢ in the store.
English learners: pair each vocabulary word with a picture card.
Home link: send a note asking families to show their child one coin and talk about one thing they are saving for. See how to teach kids about money by age.

Classroom and school orders

Teachers, PTAs and school libraries can order sets in quantity. See bulk and classroom orders.

Volume 1: $69.99
Volume 2: $69.99
Complete Collection, all 10 books: $109.99

This unit is an editorial resource, not an official curriculum. We are not affiliated with the authors or publishers of the alternative titles.

Frequently asked questions

What should kindergarten learn about financial literacy?

That money is earned by working, that it can be saved for a goal, the difference between wants and needs, and the names of common coins.

How long should a kindergarten money lesson be?

About 20 to 30 minutes: a short read-aloud, a few questions and one hands-on activity.

What books are good for teaching kindergarten about money?

Teddy and the Piggy Banks, Teddy Goes to Work, Bunny Money, Just Saving My Money and Lemonade in Winter.

When should I teach a money unit?

April, which is Financial Literacy Month in the US, is a natural fit, but the unit works any time of year.

Our pick

To teach the full unit with one series, get the Complete Collection: all five lessons plus five more stories for the rest of the year.

See the Complete Collection · Volume 1 · Volume 2

More: financial literacy books for kindergarten and 1st grade and Financial Literacy Month activities.

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Homeschool Money Curriculum for Ages 4–8: A Simple 10-Week Plan →Ryan Cohen’s Children’s Books: The Story Behind Teddy →

The Teddy sets

Give the whole set

Each volume is a boxed set of five illustrated hardcovers by Ryan Cohen, 32 pages each, for reading aloud with children about 3 to 8. One set covers a whole season of bedtime stories, and every set ships free in the US.