Money in the Bank

Materials:

• Cardboard boxes
• egg carton
• writing supplies
• chain or string
• junk mail

Who needs automatic teller machines when you can have a bank right at home and set your own hours?

Have your child set up a "teller's window" with deposit and withdrawal slips (cut-up junk mail or pieces of used paper), a pen on a chain (or string), a computer terminal (made from boxes), and a cash register (an egg carton). Supply some coins, too (supervise closely if toddlers will be joining the play).

See whether your younger child can help you with some simple transactions (like accepting money for a deposit or cashing a check). Your older child might assist you with more complicated banking matters (counting change, exchanging your money for foreign currency, issuing traveler's checks, and so on).

Then, trade places. You become the teller and your child can take on the role of the customer. Your child might just learn a valuable lesson while he or she is banking: Money really doesn't grow in egg cartons.

More on: Imagination Play

Excerpted from:

© 2005 by Steve and Ruth Bennett. Excerpted from 365 Unplugged Family Fun Activities with permission of its publisher, Perseus Books Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.