Junior Achievement

From JuniorAchievement.org, the role of the Junior Achievement program is as follows:

“JA’s volunteer-delivered, kindergarten-12th grade programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurshipand financial literacy skills,and use experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential.”

On May 13, 2019, my husband and I led our son’s kindergarten class in the set of lessons entitled “Ourselves” designed to accomplish the following goals:

1. Practice personal economics by considering choices.
2. Explain the difference between needs and wants.
3. Understand the concept of money, particularly earning and saving.
4. Identify the importance of giving to a worthy cause.

These are pretty lofty goals for 5 and 6 year olds to comprehend and yet each of them were and are attainable. The curriculum broke down the concepts into developmental appropriate pieces and included activities and games that drove the points home. We enjoyed working with the kiddos and several other parents to accomplish this important first step.

Next year, the first graders will get the next set of principles. The curriculum is designed to stand alone each year and to build on the previous year. It’s oh so necessary in this day and age for our kiddos to know, understand and practice good habits when it comes to money and understanding the roles of our economy.

I wish we could have had this program when I was in school! If anyone doesn’t have this incredible FREE program in your school, go to the website and check out your local office.