Money Bingo: A fun way to teach kids coin values

Teach your kids essential money skills and coin identification with this fun printable money bingo game!

Kids LOVE money. The joy that comes from finding a penny on the ground or a nickel in between the couch cushions is immeasurable.

But in order to make sure our kids don’t end up like the mistaken child in Shel Silverstein’s poem “Smart” (Have you read that poem?…I love it!), it’s important to teach them about the values of the various coins.

To be fair, it’s confusing. I mean, why IS a dime worth more than a penny and a nickel, when a dime is the smallest coin? Somebody goofed.

Learning coin value may not be intuitive, but it is important…and it can be FUN!

This money bingo game is a perfect way to play together and learn this important life skill.

It comes with five unique bingo cards, so everyone in the family can play! It would also be perfect for using in a small group rotation in a preschool or elementary school classroom (hi, teachers!)

The set also includes printable calling cards of each of the coins. Just cut them apart and make a stack to be a “draw pile”. (Note: make sure you print on cardstock so you can’t see the images through the back of the paper.)

Wanna play?!

Money Bingo

What we’re learning:

• money identification and value
• sorting
• matching

Materials needed:

• printable bingo cards and calling cards
• cardstock paper
• an assortment of coins

Preparation:

1. Print the bingo cards and calling cards.
2. Cut apart the calling cards.
3. Make sure you have enough coins of each type for players to use as markers on their boards.

How to play:

1. Give each player a Bingo card. Shuffle the calling cards and place them face down in a “draw pile.” Place the assorted coins in a bowl (or just a pile) in the center of the playing area.
2. The first player draws a card, identifies the coin aloud (with help if needed) and places the same type of coin from the pile on a matching square on his or her money Bingo board. For example: If a player draws a penny card, he says, “I got a penny” and then takes a penny from the pile. He can then choose to put the penny on ANY of the spaces related to a penny: the picture, “one cent”, “penny” or “1¢”.
3. Play continues with players taking turns drawing cards and placing coins until one player get bingo by getting five coins of any type in a row: vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. This player calls out “Money Bingo!” (or something else silly like, “I’m rich!”) and wins the game.

Want to keep learning?

After the game, challenge players to add up all the coins from their board to see who “earned” the most money. If you want to be the coolest mom ever for the day, you could even let them keep the money (It will probably be less than a dollar, but they’ll think it’s amazing!)

Want more ideas for teaching important life skills to kids? Try these posts from our “safety skills” series!

• Safety Skills: How to teach your child to memorize his phone number
• Safety Skills: Critical fire safety tips for families (+ a FUN scavenger hunt)
• Safety Skills: What you need to teach your child about getting lost…and how I learned the hard way