Keeping a ledger can teach kids basic accounting skills and a bit of economics. It is actually a fun and practical math activity for kids who love numbers. My 6 year old keeps track of his savings and allowance easily by recording his earnings in a ledger book. I got the idea because one of the activity ideas in The Write Start (Affiliate link.) Have you got your copy yet? It’s worth it. See my review of the book. was keeping a ledger book. So he’s also getting some real-world writing skills, too.
I bought Kiddo a simple 8 column blank ledger book to keep track of how much money he had earned, and how much he had to spend, save or give. He loves to write in it, and I think he works harder to earn money just so he can write it down!
You can also read my description of Kiddo’s allowance system.which encourages him to save and give his money, as well as earning him some spending money.
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Joyful Learner says
This is fabulous! Can you share this post on our math links? Thanks!
Raising a Happy Child says
Your system makes a lot of sense to me – I wish we had a family pet. So far Anna displayed very little interest in earning money and she doesn't really ask for anything except chocolate – I suspect that this girl gets everything before she even gets a chance to know that she wants it.
aly in va says
that is a practical idea indeed. I can't tell you how many folks I know who can't budget their checkbook….unfortunately myself too.
Joyful Learner says
Thanks for reposting this! We just collected red envelopes and I wrote it down on a checkbook.
Manav says
Hi,
My son is almost 6 yrs old and I have started to teach him basic accounting as well. I made a simple format on Excel and printed out some pages and made an accounting notebook out of it. He records everything he earns and everything he spends and also balances (adds or subtracts) after each transaction.
I want to ask you about how your child/ren is doing with his accounting and if he uses the accounting skills when thinking about getting toys, candies, etc. Also, what changes did you make in your methods, if any?
Thanks in advance on your feedback.
Sincerely,
Manav
Erica MomandKiddo says
We still do the ledgers much like I describe in this post. It’s been working well for us. He tends not to record his purchases any more, which I suppose he should do, but I let him handle it how he wants to.