In the military community, we know April as the Month of the Military Child and Military Saves Month. MFAN has been sharing resources related to both of these topics all month long, but today we are bringing the two together to share financial education resources for military kids.
It may be hard to imagine resources that teach children financial skills in a fun and engaging way but our friends at AFSA Education and the Singleton Foundation have done just that!
MONEYSKILL
Developed by the AFSA Education Foundation in 2002, MoneySkill was one of the first online personal finance courses. This tool has evolved and connects educators and parents with resources designed to help provide students in middle school, high school, and college with customized online courses focused on the basics of money management.
In addition to quizzes and pre- and post-course test materials, students can participate in real life simulations to put their new learning into practice. There are 37 modules in total, with opportunities to customize the content based on each student’s interests and learning needs. You can learn more about MoneySkill and try out one of their sample modules here.
VENTURE VALLEY
For younger children (and even those of us who are young at heart!), the Singleton Foundation has recently launched Venture Valley. This online game helps children learn financial literacy and business skills as they start and grow their own businesses. Players can choose to play in solo or multiplayer mode and have opportunities to participate in online solo or team competitions. Additional resources such as classroom activities and educator guides can help parents and teachers build on the lessons learned in the game. You can learn more about Venture Valley here or download the game on your mobile device from AppStore or Google Play.
Best of all, both of these programs are FREE for families to use!
As parents, we do all we can to set our children up for success in the future, but teaching financial literacy is a challenge, especially when many of us have questions about this topic ourselves! Fortunately, resources like these help teach our children age-appropriate information about their financial future – and they manage to make it fun at the same time.
