There are so many learning activities you can do with coins with preschoolers. This post focuses on four of those. A counting activity, a tactile activity, and two crafts. Your child will enjoy learning about different coins with these preschool money activities. They go great with your Holy Week studies too!
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What child doesn’t love playing with coins? I know all of my kids do. Toddlers enjoy feeling the coolness of the metal, the texture of the inscriptions, and the sound of their jingle. Preschoolers enjoy showing off how high they can count, they love to sort the different types of coins, and they feel big getting to play with things grown-ups use. Elementary schoolers can practice counting by 5s, 10s, and 25s and adding amounts together. They can also practice buying and selling and figuring out how much things cost. Older kids can learn budgeting, figuring out sales tax, and understanding wages.
I use some of these preschool money activities during Holy Week for my kids’ Holy Week Baskets. Not sure what a Holy Week Basket is? See the explanation here. They work great with the story of Judas agreeing to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins on Holy Tuesday. You can find a kid-friendly version of this story in my book Resurrection Moments. I also pull them out when we are talking about money. Or even when I just need something different to keep the littles occupied for a bit.
Preschool Money Activities
Counting Coins
This activity is pretty self-explanatory. Give your preschooler a handful of coins and let them practice counting! Many kids, especially younger ones, struggle with connecting the numbers they have memorized to actual amounts. Sliding coins or setting them up in rows as they count helps them learn to count objects 1 for 1. They could also stack them in groups of 3, 5, or 10. My little ones always love the challenge of seeing how tall of tower they can make with different materials. A coin tower would be fun!
This preschool money activity really works on fine motor skills for those itty hands. I love watching my tots’ chubby little fingers manipulate objects as they play and learn.
If you are using this activity in your Holy Week study, you could have them separate the silver coins from the bronze. They also could count out 30 coins and place in a bowl or baggie to put in their basket.
Playdough Inscriptions
This preschool money activity combines coins and play dough. Two much loved preschool materials! You can give your kids real coins or play money. I have some oversized plastic coins I picked up one time at the dollar store that work great for this activity.
Just give your child some coins and a jar of play dough and let them have at it. You can encourage their working on hand strength by showing them how to roll the play dough into a ball and then flattening it like a pancake. After it is flat, they take the coin and press it into the play dough to make an impression. Your preschooler will love seeing the imprint of the coin in the play dough. And what little one can’t play happily with play dough for a bit?
Coin Rubs
This classic activity has been around for quite a while. There’s a reason it has such staying power though! My littles were amazed to see the images and even the words from the coins under the paper appear in their scribbles.
All you need is coins, crayons, and paper. Place the coin under the paper, hold it down, and, using the side of the crayon, rub it across the coin. The image will show up like magic. My 5 year old did it for quite a while with a variety of coins. He loved it!
Foil Coins
Another fun preschool money activity is Foil Coins. This is another activity that goes great with your Holy Week Baskets. The kids can make their own coins to place in their baskets.
Aluminum foil is a great tactile experience for littles. It is unlike any other substance and is not something kids get to play with often. AND, it is pretty and shiny!
Depending on the age of your preschooler, they can wad the foil into a ball. They could fold the edges down into a round shape. Or they can decorate their own coin with stickers or markers. *Note: Washable markers rub right off the foil and make a mess on hands. Sharpies work well on aluminum foil, but aren’t the best idea for toddlers and don’t wash out of clothes. Use your discretion based on the ability/maturity of your child. Stickers are a great option!
For more preschool activity ideas as well as for activities for other age groups pertaining to Holy Week see the post Holy Week Activities for All Ages. You can find tons more activities for every day for every age group over on the Activities page.
The Chasing Those Moments Shop has lots of resources and fully-scripted lesson plans available for download (including a few freebies!), as well as my books Jesse Tree Moments and Resurrection Moments.
Follow Chasing Those Moments on Pinterest for plenty of inspiration to keep those littles constructively busy.
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