Financial Literacy Month Activities for Kids (April): 20 Ideas for Home and School

Quick answer: Financial Literacy Month is April in the US. For kids 3–8, plan one money idea per week: earning, saving, spending choices, then giving. Good activities include a three-jar save-spend-share system, a pretend store, a lemonade or corn stand, a wants-versus-needs sort, a grocery-store price hunt and a money read-aloud each week. The Teddy Complete Collection gives you a story for every week ($109.99, or $69.99 per five-book set, free US shipping).

April is a good month to talk about money with young children: it gives families and classrooms a reason to start, and a few weeks to build a habit. These ideas need little more than coins, jars and a good book.

We run Caring Parents’ Choice, a small family store that sells the Teddy books by Ryan Cohen. Every activity here works with any books you have.

Teddy Complete Collection, ten hardcover books

A story for every week of April

Teddy Complete Collection, 10 books

10 hardcovers · $109.99 · free US shipping

See the Complete Collection →

Start with five

Teddy Volume 1, five-book set

5 hardcovers · $69.99 · free US shipping

See Volume 1 →

A 4-week April plan

Week	Big idea	Read-aloud	Main activity
1	Where money comes from	Teddy Goes to Work	Visit or video-call a grown-up at work
2	Saving	Teddy and the Piggy Banks	Set up save, spend and share jars
3	Spending choices	Teddy Says Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees	Wants-versus-needs sort and a store price hunt
4	Earning and giving	Teddy and the Corn Stand	Run a stand; give part of the earnings away

20 Financial Literacy Month activities

Earning

Job interviews. Kids ask a parent or neighbor three questions about their job.
Paid “bonus” chores. Beyond everyday chores, offer small jobs that earn coins. See chores by age.
Lemonade or corn stand. Plan, price, sell and count. Our lemonade stand guide walks through it.
Community helper hunt. Spot five workers on a walk and say how they help.
Craft market. Make bookmarks or drawings and “sell” them to family for play money.

Saving

Three jars. Clear jars labeled Save, Spend and Share.
Goal picture. Tape a drawing of the goal to the Save jar.
Savings thermometer. Color in a chart as the jar fills.
The waiting game. One treat now, or two on Friday? Talk about the choice. See teaching patience.
Bank visit. Open a first savings account or simply watch how a deposit works.

Spending choices

Wants versus needs sort. Cut pictures from a catalog into two piles. See needs vs wants.
Grocery price hunt. Find the cheapest apple, cereal and milk.
Pretend store. Price toys with sticky notes and pay with coins.
The $5 challenge. Plan a snack for the family with five dollars.
Coin sort and count. Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters; older kids add them up.

Giving and reading

Share jar decision. The family chooses a cause and gives the Share jar to it.
Donation sort. Choose toys or clothes to donate.
Weekly money read-aloud. One book a week; ask “What would you do?”
Grandparent story. Ask a grandparent about their first job or first purchase.
Money journal. Kids draw one money choice they made each week.

Activities by age

Age	Best activities
3–4	Coin sort, three jars, pretend store, community helper hunt
5–6	Goal picture, wants-versus-needs sort, price hunt, bonus chores
7–8	Run a stand, $5 challenge, savings thermometer, money journal

For teachers

Want a ready classroom unit? Use our free kindergarten financial literacy lesson plan, five read-aloud lessons that fit one April week. Schools and PTAs can order sets in quantity through bulk and classroom orders.

Prices

All sets ship free within the US. To have books in hand for April 1, order by mid-March.

Frequently asked questions

When is Financial Literacy Month?

April. It is recognized in the United States as National Financial Literacy Month.

How do you celebrate Financial Literacy Month with kids?

Pick one money idea per week, read a story about it, and do one hands-on activity, such as save-spend-share jars or a pretend store.

What age can kids start learning about money?

Around 3, with simple ideas like naming coins, saving in a jar and waiting for something they want.

Our pick

For a story every week of April and beyond, choose the Teddy Complete Collection; for a first set, Volume 1.

See the Complete Collection · Volume 1 · Volume 2

More: best children’s books about money and allowance by age.

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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.