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Fifth-graders learn dollars, sense
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .On Oct. 28, St. Christine fifth-grade teacher Michelle Kerr (right) celebrated a successful nine weeks of her classroom financial project with a live auction for her students. Kerr acted as auctioneer during the proceedings as students placed their bids for baskets of snacks, supplies, or toys.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .As teacher Michelle Kerr introduced a basket of girl's goodies to the floor for bidding on Oct. 28, auction cards of many of the fifth-grade girls were excitedly raised.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Fifth-grader Keegan Butler (hand raised) was a man with a plan as he placed the winning bid for a goodie basket during the Oct. 28 auction.
By SARAH FOOR
Although the fifth-graders at St. Christine School are many years away from receiving paychecks, paying rent and balancing their checkbooks, their year-long classroom financial project is teaching the ins and outs of those necessary skills.
The project was the brainchild of fifth-grade teacher Michelle Kerr, who envisioned the program to teach the fifth-graders a mix of math, social studies and valuable life skills.
“The fact is, I know adults my age that don’t know how to balance checkbook. These are skills that the students will need some day and they are skills we are rapidly losing. The program is about money, but it’s also about making smart choices,” explained Kerr.
Along with fellow teacher Kelly Leonard, the fifth-graders applied for “jobs” and receive paychecks each week for completing their schoolwork. The students owe rent on their spots in the classroom.
Although primarily a financial program, the project rewards good behavior and punishes misconduct. Students can earn extra money for high marks on tests, quizzes, and bonus questions, and will have money docked for talking during class.
The students are responsible for keeping track of their funds and are required to keep a balanced checking account.
To celebrate their first nine weeks of the project, Kerr and Leonard held an auction on Oct. 28, where students could spend as they chose. Kerr prepared baskets of school supplies, Halloween candy, snacks, gumballs, a girls basket, and a boys basket, for the students to place their bids. Some popular baskets fetched more than $400 in the fifth-grader’s currency.
“How each student approaches money is already apparent during our auction. Some are overspending, some are saving and letting their funds follow them to next semester, some are making small purchases. I just like that they’re having fun with it and starting to really think about those decisions,” said Kerr at the close of the auction.