Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent

WOW! How would you like to have that name? Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent is a delightful character created in the mind of author Lauren Child. The humorous plot is along the lines of the classic parent/child role-reversal. Hubert Horatio's irresponsible socialite parents are squandering the family fortune. In his efforts to save the day the charming and resourceful Hubert learns that money isn't nearly as important as family.

Teaching Tip
Young readers will enjoy this tale that can be used as a starting point for conversations about money. If you want to follow the book with a continuation of the lessons on identifying, counting, and exchanging coins that we touched upon yesterday I suggest the "Coin Box" activity found on the Illuminations site. The activity was inspired by the article "Teaching the Value of Coins" published in the January 1999 issue of Teaching Children Mathematics. In the article authors Randell L. Drum and Wesley G. Petty Jr. address the fact that coins are nonproportionate models in terms of the value they represent and offer alternative, proportionate models that can be associated with each coin.

A dime doesn't buy as much as it use to

I've had money on my mind lately...not because of the economy, but because I've found myself in various conversations about children and money. Specifically, the topic has been concern that children are exhibiting increasing difficulty counting and exchanging coins. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that as our society evolves and depends more and more on digital commerce children have less and less opportunity to see the use of coins modeled in everyday life.

"Clink, clink, clink, clink...Clink, clink, clinkity... Money saved in a bank makes your brain think-thinkity!"

In You Can't Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime author Harriet Ziefert uses rhyming verse to tell the story of Pete and his experience in earning, saving and budgeting his allowance. Readers can join him as he saves, spends, and strategizes over future purchases.

Teaching Tip
If possible, provide children with an assortment of real coins to model the actions of Pete as they re-read the book. Encourage students to begin to save coins and create their own spending and saving plan.

Field Trip

Here in Washington D.C. you can't go to any of the museums or historical spots without being surrounded by the swarms of excited children in town for spring field trips. While not every school can send students to the nation's capitol, there are just as many, if not more, great field trip destinations that are local. Whether traveling near or far, there is still the question of where the class will get the funds needed for transportation and other expenses. Planning the trip and raising the cash can provide for just as much learning as the trip itself.

Such is the case in How the Second Grade Got $8205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty.
It makes a great read-aloud.

Teaching Tip
After reading it lead a discussion where children share their own ideas for raising money or their own experiences with ventures such as lemonade stands or doing chores to raise cash. Have the students re-read the book keeping track of the profits and expenses. If your school allows, you class could launch their own fundraiser to collect monies to donate to recent disaster relief funds.