Materials
pennies, nickels, and dimesplastic bowlbig handkerchief
Instructions
1. Teach the children the following rhyme.How Many Cents Make a Dime by Shyamala ShanmugasundaramHow many cents make a dime?I need to buy a swaying wind chime.Ten cents make a dime.It's not enough money to buy a swaying wind chime.How many dimes make a dollar?I need to buy a dog collar.Ten dimes make a dollar.It's not enough money to buy a dog collar.I'll break my piggy bank to buy a dog collar.It has a few dimes, cents, and dollars.As I sleep I will watch the stars twinkleAnd my wind chime will go tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.
2. Show the children a penny, a nickel, and a dime. Explain that 10 pennies equal 10 cents, 2 nickels equal 10 cents, and 1 dime equals 10 cents. For older children, you can show them the coins that make up a dollar (100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, and four quarters).
3. Place 10 pennies, 10 nickels, and 10 dimes in a plastic bowl.
4. Blindfold a child and ask her to take 10 dimes from the bowl to make a dollar using her sense of touch. Depending on the age of the child, you may want to use dimes and quarters, and have the child remove only three or four dimes.
5. When the child is finished, remove the blindfold and ask her if she has a dollar. If not, ask her how many more dimes she needs to make a dollar.
