Decision Literacy
Thinking clearly and evaluating choices.
Free and open educational curriculum
Financial Literacy for Kids
A free, open curriculum that teaches ages 8–12 how money actually works.
18 weeks of hands-on, discussion-driven lessons — each about 20 minutes per session — designed for classrooms, homeschool families, after-school clubs, and any adult who wants to help kids understand earning, saving, spending, and financial systems through curiosity, not lectures.
Introduction
Financial Literacy for Kids is an 18-week curriculum for ages 8–12, built for classroom teachers, homeschool families, caregivers, and after-school leaders. Each week includes three sessions of about 20 minutes each. Students move beyond basic money awareness into real understanding — learning how financial systems work, how to make thoughtful decisions, and how to create value for others.
Part of the Literacy for Kids Ecosystem
This curriculum is part of Literacy for Kids, a collection of open-source curricula designed to help children ages 8–12 understand the systems that shape the modern world.
Each curriculum explores a foundational literacy:
Explore the other literacies
Computer Literacy
Understanding technology and how computers work.
Media Literacy
Understanding information systems and evaluating sources.
Financial LiteracyCurrent curriculum
Understanding money and financial decisions.
Civic Literacy
Understanding governance and communities.
Core Concepts
The curriculum is organized around a set of core concepts that help students understand money and financial systems in practical, durable ways.
Value Is Assigned, Not Inherent
Students discover that value comes from agreement and context — a dollar is worth something because we all agree it is.
Money Flows Like Data
Students trace how money moves through systems — from cash to digital wallets — and how friction shapes spending behavior.
Every Choice Has a Trade-Off
Students learn opportunity costs: spending here means you cannot spend there. Budgeting is error handling for life.
Systems Shape Outcomes
Students explore how banks, interest, and inflation create the macro machinery that affects every dollar in circulation.
Creation Beats Consumption
Students move from understanding money to creating value — identifying problems and designing solutions through entrepreneurship.
Curriculum Roadmap
The learning progression moves from foundational value mechanics through digital money systems, strategic budgeting, economic systems, and into a capstone entrepreneurship project.
Weeks 1–4
Value Foundations
Understanding value, trade and barter, why money exists, and the household economy
Weeks 5–8
The Flow of Resources
How money moves, ways we pay, digital money, and friction and spending
Weeks 9–11
Strategy & Planning
Resource allocation and risk: budgeting, opportunity costs, and emergency funds
Weeks 12–14
Economic Systems
Banking, interest, and macro mechanics: how the financial hardware works
Weeks 15–18
The Value Creation Project
Entrepreneurship capstone: identify a problem, design a solution, manage a budget, and present
Start Teaching Financial Literacy
Begin with the Welcome page for an overview, then jump into Week 1. Each session is about 20 minutes — designed for ages 8–12.
Found a mistake or have a suggestion? Open an issue on GitHub.
Version 1.0
This curriculum is an open project and will continue to improve as teachers and families use it.