Coin Shop

Little levels (ages 4 to 6)

1. Know your coins Tap the penny, dime, nickel and quarter by name.
2. Which is worth more? A dime beats a nickel even though it is smaller.
3. Pay with pennies Four, seven and three cents, one penny at a time.
4. Nickels and dimes Count by fives and tens to pay fifteen, thirty and twenty-five cents.
5. Exact change Mix coins to pay seven, twelve and sixteen cents exactly.

Big levels (ages 7 to 9)

1. Two ways to pay Make twenty-five and fifty cents two different ways.
2. Count the coins Count piles worth fifty-one, thirty-seven and sixty-one cents.
3. Fewest coins Forty-three, thirty and seventeen cents with the fewest coins.
4. Give change Count up from the price to what was paid.
5. Make a dollar One hundred cents from coins; how many quarters and dimes make a dollar.
6. Shopping trip Add two prices, pay with a dollar, find the change.

The big ideas

• Each coin has a value. A penny is 1 cent, a nickel 5, a dime 10 and a quarter 25. The value is written on the coin, and it has nothing to do with the coin's size: a dime is smaller than a nickel but worth twice as much.

• Count coins by skip counting. Nickels count by fives, dimes by tens, quarters by twenty-fives. Start with the biggest coin and count on with the smaller ones.

• Many ways to make the same amount. Twenty-five cents can be a quarter, two dimes and a nickel, five nickels, or twenty-five pennies. The fewest coins come from using the biggest coins first.

• Change is counted up. If something costs 18 cents and you pay 25, count up from 18 to 25: the gap, 7 cents, is the change.

• One hundred cents make a dollar. Four quarters, ten dimes or twenty nickels each add up to a dollar. Prices over a dollar are written like $1.25.

Try it at home

1. Coin sort Empty a jar of coins and sort them into pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Count each pile by ones, fives, tens and twenty-fives.
2. Play shop Put price tags on a few toys and take turns being shopkeeper and customer. Pay with exact change, then pay with too much and work out the change.
3. Coin rubbing Put paper over a coin and rub it with a crayon. Which coin has the biggest picture? Which is worth the most?
4. Dollar race Each pick a coin type and see how many it takes to make a dollar. Quarters finish first!

Ask after playing

• Which is worth more, a nickel or a dime? How do you know?
• What are two ways to make ten cents?
• If a toy costs 40 cents and you pay with two quarters, how much change should you get?