Bank Vault Tour

What your kid learns

• Safe and counted

  Money at home can get lost or spent. A bank keeps it safe and counts every cent. Putting money in is a deposit. Taking it out is a withdrawal.

• Banks lend, savers earn

  Banks lend saved money to borrowers. Borrowers pay extra. So banks can pay savers a little, too. A credit union works like a bank, but its members own it.

• Insured money

  Say an insured bank closes. You still get your money back, up to a limit. Insurance doesn’t cover a lost card or a scam. Some families use a bank, some a credit union, some cash. All are OK.

The story: The Case of the Vault Tour

In a bank lobby, a banker shows Amara and Marcus how deposits, withdrawals and loans work.

1. Helper: Field trip, detectives! Today we tour a bank.
2. Banker: Welcome! We keep money safe, and we count every cent.
3. Amara: I want to put in a pretend $10. Is that a deposit?
4. Banker: Yes! Taking money out is a withdrawal. Your statement lists both.
5. Marcus: Does the money just sit in the vault?
6. Banker: We lend some to borrowers. They pay extra, so savers get paid, too.
7. Helper: Case closed! Banks keep it safe and keep it counted.

The game: Open a Pretend Account

Read this pretend statement. Deposits add money. Withdrawals take it out. Tap the mistake.

Games use pretend money and work with taps or a keyboard. Nothing is timed.

New words

deposit

putting money into an account

withdraw

taking money out of an account

credit union

a kind of bank owned by its members

insured

covered if the bank closes, up to a limit

Questions at the end

• Mei puts a pretend $5 into the bank. What is that called?
• Why is a bank safer than a shoebox?
• What does “insured” cover?

Remember this

Banks keep it safe and keep it counted.

Talk about it

Ask: why is a bank safer than a jar, and what can still go wrong?

Try it at home: Fill in a pretend deposit slip

1. Draw a pretend deposit slip.
2. Add a pretend name, a date and an amount.
3. Ask a grown-up how they keep money safe.

Fill in a pretend deposit slip.

For grown-ups: live facts

• FDIC insurance

  $250,000per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category

  How much of your money at an FDIC-insured bank is protected if the bank fails

  As of February 8, 2026

  Source: FDIC.gov(opens in a new tab)

• Credit union deposit insurance

  Source: NCUA(opens in a new tab)

• Many kids’ money apps aren’t banks. Their coverage depends on a partner bank.

  Source: FDIC: Understanding deposit insurance(opens in a new tab)

School standards

• National Standards for Personal Financial Education: Saving
• Common Core Math 4.NBT.B.4