To supplement our “Money and Financial Literacy” unit in math, Division 7 has set up a classroom currency, known as Khouri Kash. The bills range in amounts from 5 cents to 100 cents/one dollar, with a picture of the corresponding Canadian coin on the back, to help with their “real-life” money recognition and recall.
As a class, we brainstormed different ways that the students can earn, lose, and spend their “Kash”, and for a few weeks now, the students have been doing so in a variety of ways. Some ways they can earn Khouri Kash throughout the day are: helping one another, going above and beyond, really persevering in their work, and doing random acts of kindness. However, they also have to pay Khouri Kash, should they do something or act in a way that goes against our Classroom Charter. The students were also introduced to the concept of “debt”, and what it means to find yourself owing money and not having enough to pay. The class came up with possible “community service” tasks – extra jobs that can be done to help pay off their debt (e.g. helping a friend finish their work instead of having free time, writing a kind letter to another teacher or community member, “deep sweeping” the entire classroom, etc). Happily, none of our Division 7 Classroom Citizens have found themselves in debt yet!
Each week, the “Bank” opens up, and the students need to “balance their chequebook” (i.e. count their Khouri Kash and record the amount they have in cents and dollars). When the Bank is open, they can also exchange their bills, should they wish to trade in five 5-cent bills for one 25-cent bill for example. This helps the students gain familiarity with the value of money and how the bills and coins are connected.
For now, the students have been spending their Khouri Kash on classroom experiences and rewards. For example, they can pay to choose the warm-up game in gym, draw instead of silent-read, or switch desks for a day. In June however, we will be setting up a “classroom store”, where they can also choose to spend their Kash on more tangible rewards and treats. Stay tuned for that!