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Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 2 Save It! A Moneybunny Book Written & Illustrated by Cinders McLeod Albert Whitman & Company, 2006 Lesson Book Synopsis: Honey works hard taking care of her five younger siblings for which she earns two carrots a week. She would really like to have a quiet place of her own. Her father suggests she save her money to buy her own playhouse. After some creative problem solving, Honey decides to save a portion of her weekly allowance. This method might take a while longer, but she will still be able to enjoy some of her favorite treats. Introduction: Teach students that saving money for a specific goal can be a rewarding experience. Time: 20-25 minutes Grade Level: PK-1 Materials: • Picture book Save It! by Cinders McLeod • Visual: Economic and Personal Finance Terms • Activity sheet: Save It! • Writing tools • Optional: Document camera Objectives: Students will: • Be introduced to the concepts of: money, saving, spending, choices, goods, services • Learn about setting a savings goal • Complete an activity sheet Virginia Standards of Learning – History and Social Science K.9 The student will a) recognize that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want; and b) explain that people work to earn money to buy the things they want.

Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 3 1.9 The student will recognize that people save money for the future to purchase goods and services. Procedure: 1. Prepare and collect materials prior to class. The visual: Economic and Personal Finance Terms may be posted in the front of the room or displayed using a document camera and reviewed with the students. 2. Introduce the lesson telling the students that the story in today’s lesson is based on a story about a hard-working bunny named Honey who wants to save money for something special. 3. Read the book Save It! to the students. This takes about 3 minutes. 4. Ask the students what they would do if they earned two dollars helping a neighbor pull weeds in the garden. [Answers will vary.] 5. Explain to the students that the payment people earn from work is called income. 6. Remind the students that money is an agreed upon medium of exchange and that in Bunnyland, carrots are money. 7. Tell the students that when someone saves their money to buy a specific good or service in the future it is called a savings goal. 8. Ask the students the following book-related questions: • What kind of work did Honey do to earn income? [She took care of her brothers and sisters. This is an example of a service.] • Why did Honey decide to save her money? [She wanted to buy a playhouse.] • What was Honey’s savings goal? [Honey’s savings goal was ten carrots.] • How many weeks did it take Honey to save ten carrots? [It took her ten weeks.] • Why did she decide not to save both of the carrots she earned each week? [Honey made a choice. She wanted some money to spend on treats so it took her longer to get to her savings goal.] • How did Honey feel at the end of the story? [She was happy to have a playhouse where she could find a quiet place to be by herself.] 9. Distribute the activity sheet and writing tools. This may be completed by individual students, small groups, or, using a document camera, as a teacher directed class activity. Encourage them to write their answers in complete sentences. 10. Read the directions to the students. 11. Check for understanding. Answers: 1. Honey was saving for a playhouse. 2. Honey will spend 10 carrots on the playhouse. 3. It will take Honey 10 weeks to reach her savings goal.

Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 4 Visual Save It! Economic and Personal Finance Concepts Choice- You cannot have all the goods and services you want, so you must choose some things and give up others. Income- Payments earned. Goods- Things that can be bought and sold such as toys, books, and playhouses. Money- Anything that serves as a medium of exchange. Example: Carrots are money in Bunnyland. Savings- Money set aside now for a future use. Savings Goal– A plan to save money to buy a specific good or service in the future. Services– Activities performed by people such as childcare, and delivering items. Spending– To use money now to buy goods and services.

Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 5 Activity Sheet Save It! Honey earns income for providing a service for her family. She takes care of her five brothers and sisters for two carrots a week. Carrots are money in Bunnyland. Honey wants to buy a playhouse for ten carrots so that she can have a place of her own. Help her reach her savings goal. 1. What good is Honey saving for? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 2. How much will Honey spend on this good? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. If Honey saves one carrot each week, how long will it be before she reaches her savings goal? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Extra Credit: Draw a picture of Honey’s playhouse.

Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 6 Save It! by Cinders McLeod Discussion Questions: 1. Money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange. What do rabbits use for money in Bunnyland? [Carrots are used for money.] 2. Work is any activity we do for which someone will pay us. What sort of work does Honey do to earn carrots? [She looks after her siblings.] 3. How many carrots does Honey earn each week for taking care of her brothers and sisters? [She earns 2 carrots a week.] 4. Honey would like her own house so she could get some peace and quiet. Her dad tells her that this would be too expensive. What do they decide would be a less expensive getaway for Honey to purchase? [He suggests a playhouse.] How much would a playhouse cost? [A playhouse cost 10 carrots.] 5. How many weeks would Honey need to save 10 carrots? [She would need to work to save all her carrots for 5 weeks.] 6. Honey would like to spend her money on fun things as well as save it. Her dad tells her that it is her money and she can decide what to do with it. What does Honey decide to do? [Honey decides to spend one carrot each week and save one carrot each week.] 7. Now that Honey has decided to save just one carrot each week, how long will it take her to save enough to buy a playhouse? [It will take Honey 10 weeks to save enough money to purchase a playhouse.]

Lynne Farrell Stover James Madison University Center for Economic Education 7 8. Is the delivery person who brought the playhouse to Honey performing a service? [Yes, delivering goods is an action.] Is the playhouse itself a good or a service. [The playhouse is a good; it is a tangible thing.] 9. Was Honey able to stick to her plan and purchase a playhouse in 10 weeks? [Yes, she was.] Do you think she made the right choice? [Answers will vary.] Enrichment Question: Tell the students that money is anything that works as a medium of exchange, meaning: something that is used to pay for goods or services. In Bunnyland carrots are used as money. Ask the students to think of some reasons carrots might not work as money in the world we live in. Be prepared for a lively discussion.