Money Math

We have been talking about pennies, nickels, and dimes.  So far we have figured out that a penny is worth 1 cent, a nickel is worth 5 cents, and a dime is worth 10 cents.  Even so, it is rather confusing to figure out that a penny, a nickel, and a dime are equal to 16 cents.  When we see the three coins together and say, "How much is this?", the answer is clearly 3.  There are only 3 coins sitting on the table so how come we call it 16?  It is a strange concept that we all take for granted.  We have been using the ten frames to help illustrate this concept.  When we fill a ten frame with ten pennies, we can sweep all the pennies off and trade it in for one dime.  The dime sits alone on the ten frame indicating that it is equal to a penny filled ten frame.  We could also trade in one full row of 5 pennies for one nickel, so even though there is one coin in that row it still means 5!  Sounds crazy, right?  It is normal for the children to struggle with this counterintuitive concept.  As there is always a wide range of abilities at this age, there are some who grasp the concept readily.  That is why our activities are designed to challenge learners at different ability levels.  We also help the children that it is okay for them to have different levels of ability in different areas.  We ask them, "Is it okay if you understand how to do this?"  They answer, "Yes!"  Then we ask them, "Is it okay if you don't know how to do it yet?"  They reply, "Yes!"  This is another way to talk about diversity with the children.  We want them to feel proud of their accomplishments, and we want them to be reflective about their challenges without negative emotion impeding their progress.