Found a penny, found a penny, found a penny just now.
It is round and brown and shiny
Found a penny just now.
I see Lincoln, I see Lincoln, our sixteenth president,
On the back is his Memorial
Penny, penny’s worth one cent.

Found a nickel, found a nickel, found a nickel just now.
It is round and fat and silver
Found a nickel just now.
I see Jefferson, I see Jefferson, our third president
On the back his Monticello
Nickel, nickel’s worth five cents.

Found a dime, found a dime, found a dime just now.
It is thin and small and silver,
Found a dime just now.
I see Roosevelt, I see Roosevelt, our thirty-second president
On the back is a torch.
One dime is worth ten cents.

Found a quarter, found a quarter, found a quarter just now.
It’s the largest of all the coins,
Found a quarter just now.
I see Washington, I see Washington, our first president
On the back the bald eagle;
Quarter’s worth twenty-five cents.

Found a dollar, found a dollar, found a dollar just now.
It has a picture of George Washington
And it’s worth one hundred cents.

Five pennies equal a nickel; ten pennies equal a dime.
Twenty-five pennies in a quarter,
Two nickels equal a dime.
Five nickels in a quarter, or a nickel and two dimes;
Four quarters in a dollar
And a dollar equals ten dimes.

Money Song  (“Is Everybody Happy?” CD)

Chorus: 
I like money to buy things at the store.            (Point to self.)
Money, money, money, I always want more!  (Palms up and shake.)

A penny’s worth one cent.            (Hold up 1 finger.)
A nickel’s worth five.                     (Hold up 5 fingers.)
A dime’s worth ten cents.             (Hold up 10 fingers.)
A quarter’s twenty-five.                 (Open and shut hands for 25.)

Chorus

Lincoln’s on one cent.
Jefferson’s on five.
Roosevelt’s on ten cents.
Washington’s on twenty-five.           

Chorus

A building’s on one cent.
A building’s on five.
A torch is on ten cents.
An eagle’s on twenty-five.        

Chorus

Activities:  Have children do rubbings of coins.  Place each coin under a sheet of paper and rub with the side of a crayon.  Who do they see?  What’s it worth?  Let children examine coins with a magnifying glass.  Encourage them to discuss details.  How old is the coin?

Show Me the Money

Skills:         money recognition; counting

Materials:   coin purse, real or pretend coins, paper, old peeled crayons

Directions:  Have children sort the coins that are alike.  Can they name the coins?  Can they tell the value?  Can they count the coins? Place the paper on top of the coins and rub with the side of the crayon.  Describe the image that appears.

More!  Take a file folder and divide it into 8 sections as shown.  Cut a toy or other object out of a magazine and write a price by each one.  Children count out the appropriate number of coins for each object. 

Coupon Clippers

Skills:           visual discrimination; sorting; money

Materials:    coupons from grocery ads or newspapers, envelope or coupon folder

Directions:   Ask the children to help you cut the coupons from the ads and newspaper.  Store these in an envelope or coupon folder.  Can they sort the coupons by amount?  Can they sort the coupons another way (i.e. canned goods, cleaning items, etc.)? 

More?     Older children could add up how much money they could save with the coupons.