Early Learning Project
Preschoolers begin to learn basic economic principles when they use concepts such as needs and resources in their investigations, play, and discussions (see Illinois Early Learning Standard 15A). Here are some teacher-tested ways of introducing economic concepts to preschoolers.
About thisTip Sheet
Introduce economic concepts through play.
- Teach children games that call for set quantities of items. Examples include Go Fish and Connect 4®.
- Explain the game rules using words such as "need" and "enough." "You need 4 cards of the same color; 3 aren't enough."
- Play Musical Chairs, which uses principles of supply and demand.
Talk with children about needs and resources.
- Show that a need is something that people, animals, or plants must have to survive or that people require to finish a task. For example, you could ask, "What do you think these plants need in order to grow?" Or "How much blue paint do you think we'll need to cover this whole sheet of paper?"
- Explain that resources are things that are used to meet needs. Ask questions to find out what the children know about resources needed to survive (air, water, food, shelter). "Remember what happened to our flowers after 6 weeks of no rain?"
- Help children investigate questions such as, "What are some ways that animals or plants get things they need?" "Where does our food come from? How do we get the water that we drink?" Arrange for them to interview doctors, veterinarians, or gardeners about the survival needs of people, animals, and plants.
- Help the children make a chart of the foods that various animals need to be healthy. Start with classroom pets and other familiar animals. Children can get information from nonfiction books and magazines or from animal care experts.
- Invite children to talk about things that they need to survive. For example, you might ask children why they all rush to the drinking fountain after playing outside on a hot day. "What could happen if you couldn't have a drink of water then?" "Someone added cookies to the list of things we need to stay alive. Fiona says she needs food, but not cookies. Juan, what do you think?"
Help the children put economic ideas to use.
- Ask children to think about what they need to finish tasks. "How much tape do you think you need for your project?"
- Invite children to notice that amounts of resources can affect plants and animals around them. "What do you predict will happen if this plant gets just one drop of water every day?" "Isaac says that birds will come here if we put out seeds for them. What do you think about that, Ava?"
For more ideas about economics for preschoolers, see the following Web resources.
- Huffing and Puffing through Economics
http://www.ala.org/ala//aboutala/offices/publishing/booklinks/resources/huffingpuffing.cfm#mainContent
- What Young Children Can Learn (about Money)
http://www.creditunion.coop/download/pre_k_11.pdf - 17 Things a 5-Year-Old Should Know about Money
http://www.creditunion.coop/download/pre_k_12.pdf - Children's Card Games
http://www.bicyclecards.com/card-games/rules#
Spanish: Las cosas que necesitamos: La economía para preescolares
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