DIY Coin-Sorter Game

  Lately Kay has been interested in money values. She learned a song in school that simply recites what each coin is worth, "A penny's worth 1 cent, a nickle's worth 5 cents...". It doesn't rhyme, it merely states the facts, but add a sing-song voice and she remembers it easily. Now she just needs a little help matching the value to the right coin. 

  This money-sorting game was inspired by Happily Ever Mom's version (which is a lot prettier, by the way - check it out!).

What you will need: 

• Container of some sort with a plastic cover (we used a raisin one)
  
• Pretend or real coins
  
• Index card
  
• Tape
  
• Scissors or utility knife
  
• Die
  

  I cut four holes in the plastic cover. Then I cut little bits of paper and wrote the coin values on them, and taped one next to each slot. Using the pretend money, I taped one of each coin to an index card and wrote the value amounts next to them. And that's it as far as set up goes. Now you're ready to play!

  As far as games go, it's not exactly an edge of your seat one. But the point was to work on coin values and counting (and fine motor skills to boot!) and it does that. We each took turns rolling a die. Whatever number would come up, the player would take that many coins, indentify which ones they were and drop them in the slot. When the coins were gone, the game was over. (Notice the lack of a "winner" - I didn't want the learning game to end in a temper tantrum!)

  It's not as lovely as it could be, but it worked. You could always wrap some felt around the container to pretty it up a bit and put the tape underneath the coins so they don't show.

Mom tip: Younger preschoolers and toddlers might have just as much fun simply dropping coins in the slots. You can use a similar idea with pom poms, marbles, anything your child likes. Picking up the small objects with their fingers is great for fine motor skills!