“It’s never too early to talk about money”, financial education in school

About 900 young French speakers from Alberta have already participated. After a few months virtually, the workshops are finally being given in the classrooms.

At the École Notre-Dame-des-Monts in Canmore, workshop leader Chantal Côté pulled off the ultimate weapon to capture the attention of the 1/2 class: fake tickets. The children pass them from hand to hand with twinkling eyes.

Although money is rarely a topic discussed in class, these youngsters between the ages of 6 and 7 already know a lot about it. Elliot Don keeps the notes and coins his parents give him in his green and blue wallet. How long will he save? A million he replies with a big smile.

Sitting at his desk, Carl Gayan is only 6 years old, but he already explains that he made 25% more money when he exchanged his euros for dollars when he arrived in Canada. dollars “,”text”:”En 2029, si ça continue, je vais avoir 2000dollars “}}”>If this continues, I’ll have $2,000 in 2029 he says with a slightly mischievous air.

For Chantal Côté, this ability to talk about money is a sign that children are ready to be introduced to financial literacy from a very early age. Al, very small, you get money for your party. If you want something, your parents say it’s too expensive. So that the children know that the money existsthe economic development officer for the youth sector of the CDEAAlberta Economic Development Council†

† To get him ready for adulthood, there has to be a start. Young people learn the language they need. †

Even though they talk about money, the words dollars and cents or cents are easily confused. Talking about $200 brings them as much wonder as $2000.

A budget in the form of three piggy banks

Through a story about a little girl who gets money for her birthday, Chantal Côté encourages them to think about the value of their purchases. Would they buy a single-use coloring poster or a magic kit?

A magic kit because you can do shows and make people payreplies a future small business man.

The economic development assistant also evokes the first notions of the budget with the concept of three piggy banks: one to spend, one to save and one to share the money received.

The idea was very pleased with their teacher, Natalie Clément, who has a boiling brain. In fact, being unaccustomed to talking about money with my students, I had no idea how great entrepreneurial ideas they have.she marvels.

Drawing lessons from her personal experience, she sees only the merit in exposing young people to financial education very early on. In college, when we all got our first credit cards, I had some friends who screwed up. I appreciated the little knowledge I hadshe decides.

† In my opinion, the sooner you start, the better. †

Focus on savings

In the sixth grade class, financial education becomes more complex. At 11-12 years old, these youngsters are used to spending money on their outings and start thinking about their future.

Chantal Côté does not hesitate to use more specialized banking vocabulary. Even financially savvy student Jeremy Poissant left the workshop after learning about interest on a loan.

Through a group exercise, her classmate Ebba Lemyre is surprised to learn just how much a $20 spend can circulate in Canmore’s local economy.

Chantal Côté teaches them subtly to step out of their world. It also bounces back on their discussions. One speaks of ski competition, it introduces the concept of sponsor. The other talks about an ambulance ride, so the workshop supervisor explains the concept of insurance.

Every time a lot of emphasis is placed on savings. It’s part of planning your life. When you’re little, it’s to buy you candy, but when you go to high school, you can plan for your driver’s license or your studies. So the economy is very importantshe explains.

The economic development officer hopes to be able to continue this financial literacy work next year and thus monitor the students’ learning process.