From an early age, children are cultivating an awareness of things which have happened, things that are occurring at the moment and things which are to come. In order to construct an idea of time, a child must make the all important link between the events in their life and when these events take place.

By learning about past, present and future, children can begin to place logical order into their lives and so make sense of the things happening around them. As Albert Einstein once said, "The reason time exists is so that everything doesn’t happen at once".

Through familiar routines, children are able to make sense of the different times of the day. Using routine, a child can understand the sequence of events in the day, helping them to associate specific events with particular times, such as morning – breakfast, evening – bedtime. This in turn will progress into a more sophisticated knowledge of different events and times, as your child’s capacity to retain and understand different routines increases.

• Sing songs about time, such as ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’, and make up rhymes to help your child remember ways of telling the time.

• Make a clock with your child and decorate it with images of things which happen at particular times.

• Use time-related vocabulary, such as ‘minutes’ or ‘o’clock’, when you're talking to your child about their schedule and what they're going to be doing.

information provided by theschoolrun.com

Things Your Middle Schooler Should Know About Money

Financial literacy is one of the primary life skills that is important for middle schoolers to know – as a foundation for greater financial literacy later in life.

Earning Money

• Understanding where the money comes from and that it is mostly an exchange of one thing for another. Earning money comes mainly from the fruits of their labor. Whether they labor mentally or physically, there is work required to make money. Once they understand this fundamental fact and see it in action in their lives, they can begin to comprehend its value on a different level.

Spending Money

Let your middle schooler help with grocery, food, and clothing shopping. It gives real-world experience for understanding how much things cost. Consider helping your child get real work experience by doing the following:

• Give your child a grocery budget for the week. Consider putting it on a prepaid debit card your child can take to the store.

• Have your child scan local sales papers and plan a menu for the week based on what’s on sale.

• Ask your child to make a list of all the things needed to make five dinners for the family within the budget you have set. Work with your child to make sure you either have everything you need in your pantry or on the list.

• Take your child to the supermarket with the list and debit card and allow your child to choose the items (helping them select fruits, vegetables, cuts of meat, etc.) and conduct the transaction.

By the end of the shopping trip, your child will have learned a valuable lesson about the costs of groceries for a household.

Borrowing Money

Borrowing is a tricky issue to tackle with children. Some middle school children will struggle with the concept that money borrowed must be repaid. However, requiring your middle school child to return borrowed money fosters an even greater appreciation of the “contract” whether written or implied, of borrowing money and the importance of repaying it promptly.

Takeaways You Can Use to Build Your Child’s Money IQ

Teaching middle school children valuable lessons about money is something you can do at home.

• Communicate honestly with your child about money.

• Allow your child practical experience with budgeting and spending money.

• Ensure your child understands what it means to borrow money and why it is so important to repay it as promised.

Use the suggestions above to help your middle schooler handle, manage, borrow, and spend more responsibly.

information provided by Bank of Tennessee