Economics Fun

Well, it's a "snow day" here in Austin! And by snow day I mean less than an inch of snow on the ground, but since we Austinites can't drive in ice and snow, no school for us! I'm still in pajamas and got to sleep in until 10. It's been a good day! :)

Since I had some extra time on my hand, I thought I'd do another blog post to attempt to get caught up! We did my economics unit way back in November! I revised it a bit and added a few activities so if you have purchased it on TpT, make sure to redownload it! :)

Most of the week was focusing on the vocabulary words needs, wants, goods and services. The first day we talked about the difference between a need and a want. A need is something you must have to live and a want is something you would like to have. The kids sorted needs and wants and came up with their own ideas:

The next day we talked about the difference between goods and services. A good is something you can use or consume while a service is something someone does for you. Once again, the kids sorted and wrote their own ideas in webs: 

Next we talked about how when we buy things we have to make choices. We talked about how you can't always buy everything that you want. The kids did an activity where I gave them 85 cents and they had to choose what they wanted that cost less than that:

We also talked about how it's important to use our money to buy what we need first. We discussed how we need food, clothing and shelter and the kids drew examples of each:

At the end of the week the kids made their own economics books where they illustrated examples of all the vocal we learned! 

a house

money

ice cream 

One thing I really like to emphasize during this unit is the importance of saving your money. The kids and I brainstormed ideas for things they could save for. It's never too early to talk about responsible spending! :) 

If you enjoyed this unit, click on the picture below to get your own!