Money as You Grow

Money as You Grow, from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is a free, research-backed resource that helps parents teach young children the foundations of money — and it is perfectly suited to the early homeschool years. Rather than a formal course, it is a collection of simple, age-appropriate activities and conversations you weave into everyday life.

The activities are grouped by age, from about 3 to 10 years old, and each is tied to a concrete money milestone: a preschooler learns that you need money to buy things and that you may have to wait and save for something you want; a five-to-seven-year-old practices comparing prices and putting coins in three jars for saving, spending, and sharing; an eight-to-ten-year-old learns to make a simple plan for their money and to recognize the difference between needs and wants. Every activity includes a short prompt and a conversation starter, so there is nothing to prepare.

A standout feature is the Money as You Grow Bookshelf — free reading guides for popular children's picture books (like A Chair for My Mother and Sheep in a Shop) that turn a normal read-aloud into a gentle money lesson with discussion questions and follow-up activities. This makes it a natural fit for a literature-rich homeschool.

Because it is built around conversation and play rather than worksheets, Money as You Grow pairs beautifully with hands-on learning and everyday banking practice, and it sets the stage for more structured programs like NGPF in the middle and high school years. Best of all, as a government resource it is unbiased, ad-free, and completely free.