Thank you coupons

Help your kids create their own type of money as a gift to a loved one.

Description

Coins and bank notes aren’t the only types of money we use. People trade other items every day—think about using tokens at arcades (we have some in our collection!) or trading snacks in the schoolyard.

This activity helps teach children the concept of exchange, and it makes a great gift for them to say thank you to someone they love.

Ages

Five to ten years old

Learning objectives

Children will:

• learn the concept of exchange for goods and services
• learn about different types of money
• practise their writing skills

Materials

• Coupon template
• Printer with card stock or paper
• Scissors
• Markers, crayons or coloured pencils
• Hole punch
• String
• Decorations such as stickers, pompoms or ribbons

Steps

Today you’re going to create your own thank you coupons to give to your loved ones. Later, they will be able to trade them in for a good or service from you. Let’s get started!

1. Prepare the template

Download and print the template (one copy per child, on card stock if possible).

2. Set up the activity

Place the craft supplies and printed template on a table.

3. Start the discussion

Get the children thinking about the coupons with these sample questions:

• Today you are going to make thank you coupons! Have you ever thought of coupons as a type of money?
  Money is anything that we use to pay or trade for something we want. For example, we can trade in coupons to get other things. The things we trade for can be either goods or services, and we will learn what those are.
• What do you think goods are?
  Goods are objects that people can buy or trade. If you have ever traded toys with your friends at school, then you were trading goods.
• What do you think services are?
  Services are jobs that people do for one another. If you have ever helped with the dishes or raked leaves, that is a service.
• When was the last time you traded something with someone else?
  What did you trade and why?
  Was it a good or a service?
• How do we usually pay for goods and services?
  Often, we use bank notes and coins.
  Are there other things we can use to buy or trade?
  Sometimes we use different types of money to pay or trade for things. If you’ve ever used tokens at an arcade or a coupon at a store, then you were using a different type of money.

4. Share ideas

Ask each child to come up with ideas for gifts that a loved one would enjoy (goods) or jobs they could complete for them (services). For example:

• Wash the car (service)
• Create a handmade art piece (good)
• Plan a movie afternoon together (service)
• Plan a game night (service)
• Clean a room in the house (service)
• Cook a homemade meal (the food you make would be the good, and preparing and serving the meal would be the service)

Ask each child to write one idea on each coupon.

5. Personalize your coupons

• Colour and decorate the coupons.
• Cut out each coupon and punch a hole through the top left corner.
• Tie the coupons together with a string or ribbon to make a booklet.

Bonus activities

Coupon of the day

• Children can place their coupons inside a decorated jar instead of tying them into a booklet.
• They can then ask their loved one to select a new coupon each day of the week.

“Will work for coupons”

• Create coupons for your child to earn by doing some set tasks around the house.
• Pick a few goods and services you can offer as rewards in exchange for the coupons earned. For example, doing the dishes could earn one coupon, which could be exchanged for a special treat.