Keeping it Fun

When Amanda and I do homework this week, we are supposed to spend a good deal of our time learning how to count change. Her teacher says it is one of the most difficult things first graders have to learn. Amanda and I would tend to agree with her teacher...learning how to count change is tough stuff!

I was trying to think of ways to help Amanda understand (since both of us were getting frustrated last night), so I came up with the idea for "Daddy's Candy Store". Amanda is a candy fiend, so I thought I'd run to the store, pick up some candy, put price tags on it, give Amanda some change and let her shop. When I ran to Walgreens tonight, I picked up a stuffed Nemo along with the candy, so Amanda thought it should be "Daddy's Fun Store" since we had more than just candy.

Well, the idea was a good one and Amanda enjoyed shopping, but I'm not sure how much it helped here learn to count change. Amanda purchased about three things and then we got stuck not being able to figure out how to make the correct change for the rest. I was getting frustrated, so we got one more item purchased for the correct price and shut the store down for the evening. To end on an "up" note (instead of ending with Daddy being frustrated), we said the reason for shutting down the store was to make sure there was more stuff to buy tomorrow.

So at this point, Nemo has a new home, Amanda has a new stuffed animal to sleep with and Daddy is going to have to work on a better way of explaining how to count money while making sure the store stays "fun"!

- Rob