Before They Get to I.O.U.: Teaching Financial Literacy

For many students summer isn’t just a time to work on tans; it’s also time to work.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 60 percent of the American youth labor force (ages 16‒24) are employed during summer months. In fact, between April and July of last year, the labor force grew by 14.5 percent. We know many will spend their earnings on food, fashion, fuel, and fun.

However, long before they are working age, young people need to know how money works.


The How Do We Use Money?series from Searchlight Books teaches elementary age students the basic principles of healthy spending habits. This four book series teaches kids how to save, spend, and build their own budget. Plus, we have fun “extras” and free resources to help you get the conversation started.

To download free resources for the books in this series, visit a book’s product page on our website. If you haven’t registered with us, please do so in the upper-right corner of the page. On future visits, you’ll need to sign in to download files. Then look in the right-hand column of the page for the eSource logo. Just under the Font Lens, you’ll see the downloadable eSource files. Click on an individual file or on “download all.”

Have you begun teaching your students (or children) about financial literacy? If so, what tools or resources have you found helpful?