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Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

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Money, Drawn

Four everyday money ideas, each drawn as a strip of paper: a paycheck's parts, a tax bracket as a cut bar, interest as last year's bar plus a slice, and a loan's shrinking interest.

For grown-ups, from what MintForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1A paycheck in parts
  2. Lesson 2A bracket is a cut bar
  3. Lesson 3Interest is a slice
  4. Lesson 4A loan's shrinking slice
At the table · 2 to 6, a teenager welcome

Paper paychecks

You'll need: strips of paper, scissors, a pencil.

  1. Each person cuts a strip and writes a pretend monthly pay on it.
  2. Take turns naming one thing that comes out (tax, rent, savings) and cutting that piece off, with a rough length that matches.
  3. Lay the leftover strips side by side. Talk about one piece you would choose to make longer and one you cannot change.

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →