Goal Getters

What your kid learns

• Short goals and long goals

  Short goals take a few weeks, like a comic book. Long goals take many weeks, like a bike. A picture of your goal helps you stick with it.

• Find what’s left

  Pick the thing and find its price. Count what you already saved. Take that away from the price.

• Count the weeks

  Divide what’s left by what you add each week. A leftover means one more week. No weekly money? Count jobs or gifts instead.

The story: The Case of the Bike Plan

In a bedroom, Mei and Leo work out how many weeks it takes to save for a pretend $50 bike.

1. Helper: New case! Mei wants a bike. The pretend price is $50.
2. Mei: I already saved $8. I can add $6 each week.
3. Leo: Detective math! First, find what’s left. $50 take away $8 is $42.
4. Mei: $42 divided by $6 is 7. So, 7 weeks!
5. Leo: What if you had saved nothing at all?
6. Mei: $50 divided by $6 is 8, with $2 left over. So 9 weeks.
7. Helper: Case closed! Count what’s left. A leftover means one more week.

The game: Bike Plan

Set what’s saved and what you add each week. Watch the weeks fill the calendar. Pretend numbers.

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

New words

goal

something you save up for

short-term and long-term

goals that take a few weeks, or many weeks

“by” date

the day you want to reach your goal

Also called: target date

leftover

what’s left after you divide

Also called: remainder

Questions at the end

• Which goal is long-term?
• Pretend goal: $20. You save $3 a week. How many weeks?
• Your goal is many weeks away. What can help?

Remember this

Count what’s left. A leftover means one more week.

Talk about it

Ask about your kid’s top goal: how much is left, and how many weeks to go?

Try it at home: Make a goal card

1. Pick a pretend item and a pretend price.
2. Pick a pretend amount to add each week.
3. Work out the weeks. A leftover means one more week.
4. Draw your goal on the card.

Make a goal card for a pretend item.

School standards

• National Standards for Personal Financial Education: Saving
• Common Core Math 4.OA.A.3 (remainders)
• Common Core Math 4.NBT.B.6