Economics in the Homeschool

Sadly, the formal study of economics is left out of most of the curricula I’ve run across in my 11+ years of homeschooling. An understanding of economics is EXTREMELY important as our children grow up to care for a family, learn to tithe and give, and become the financial leaders of our country.

Unless we took an economics course specifically in high school, or more likely college, I venture to say most Americans today don’t have more than a surface understanding of managing our own money – much less how the government officials (who are supposed to be accountable to their well-informed citizens) are managing our money in the larger scheme of things.

Economics is easy to teach in the homeschool!

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Is economics something that can only be understood and taught at the high school or college levels? No way! We should begin teaching economics principles as soon as our kids understand the worth of money.

And just how do we go about this? Homeschool Economics!

Economics in the Homeschool

In the earliest years, our family starts with chores, allowance, and a saving/spending/giving model; we teach them the hard work and satisfaction of saving for big-ticket items, and we make sure there are lots of opportunities for giving with joy. As opportunities present themselves, we introduce economics vocabulary into our conversations.

During the elementary years, we use literature to help us demonstrate some more formal economics concepts in a laid-back way. I’ve shared one of those lessons in this post about productive resources. We also try to plug in at least a few field trips that lend themselves to economics discussions – factories, a bank, a grocery store, farms, and having good conversations with any business owner. Really, just about any trip can be turned into an economics-themed trip – even a trip to a pioneer fort where you discuss trading goods.

In my quest to raise economically intelligent children, I’ve used many tools and come across others waiting in the wings for the right time. I’ve included all of them below. The * indicates those that are tried and true resources.

Elementary / Middle School Economics Resources

The resources for economics in the homeschool include curricula that can be used for entire courses or lessons that you pull out to use here and there.

Curriculum:

Teaching Economics Using Children’s Literature *

Striker Jones: Elementary Economics For Elementary Detectives and Teacher’s Companion

Junior’s Adventures: Financial Peace

Online Lessons:

Literature-Based Lessons from KidsEcon Posters *

EcEdWeb Lessons, many are literature-based *

JMU Center for Economic Education

Children’s Literature List with Key Economics Concepts

Middle / High School Economics Resources

Curriculum / Textbooks:

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? *

Common Sense Business for Kids *

Capitalism For Kids: Growing Up To Be Your Own Boss *

Economics for Everybody DVD Course *

Economics in a Box

Exploring Economics

Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University DVD Home Study Kit *

Money Matters for Teens

The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America

Starting a Micro Business

Online Lessons:

15-question economics quiz *

EcEdWeb Lessons, most of these are very good *

Currency Exchange Mystery

Playdough Economics *

Economics Resources For Various Ages

Computer Games:

Chocolatier

Lemonade Tycoon *

Living Books About Economics

Chicken SundayThe Giving TreeThe Goat in the RugPancakes, Pancakes!Curious George Goes to a Chocolate FactoryCharlie Needs a CloakMy Rows and Piles of CoinsBeatrice's GoatOne Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference (CitizenKid)A New Coat for Anna (Dragonfly Books)How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)Uncle Jed's BarbershopThe Babe & IPeppe the LamplighterMike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper Books)Mama Panya's PancakesAlexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last SundayThe Toothpaste Millionaire

 

How do you teach economics in the homeschool?

More on economics!

   

 

6 Comments

  1. Thank you for a great resource list! Another oldie, but goodie, is Toothpaste Millionaire.

  2. Stephanie says:

    So glad to have found your website. I was searching for ways to make economics more fun for my 3rd grader. We have just started homeschooling and are following a school curriculum which includes economics in the social studies textbook. Your resource links for literature about econ are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!!

  3. Yay, Stephanie! I LOVE teaching economics!!

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