A school of fish: Economics and Money Unit; Counterfeits; Making Currency

I was excited to study Economics and Money again because this was one of my favorite units long ago! The girls are a good age for it now. I remembered that unit so fondly that I thought maybe I could just use the same lesson plan, but (as always happens when I revisit an old topic) when I got into planning I could see that we needed something different. So many fun things to learn about, though!

We got one of every kind of bill and coin (up to $100, anyway) and looked at all the different security features. We talked about the materials you could make money out of, and the different symbols different countries put on their money, and then the kids designed and made their own!

(We already have our family currency too, Bunny Money.)

A guide to features on currency: https://www.uscurrency.gov/sites/default/files/downloadable-materials/files/en/quick-reference-guide-en.pdf

Anti-counterfeiting measures https://www.secretservice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2020-12/KnowYourMoney.pdf

How coins are made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIwUqiedeRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef4I8HWBr0o&t=383s How a dollar is made

Gus took this VERY SERIOUSLY. He put all kinds of hidden features in his money, to the point that there was a secret fabric core inside the bill which could be unveiled in case of counterfeiting. He explained it all to me earnestly.

We experimented with making watermarks, which was fun!

(Instructions here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEVGU46_KZE)

Ziggy making a sheet of bills

All his finished bills (I like the one that says "God is Good" and also the one that says "Be Good to God.")

Daisy made SUCH good money! She spent so much time making all the details. Her money is called "guin" (for "penguin," of course). I love her picture of Ben Franklin on the front. He is drinking a cup of hot chocolate, which almost looks like his mouth at first glance, but as you can see when you cover his cup, it really is Ben Franklin himself:

Here's the back of the bill. I love the penguin carrying a "guins" banner in his beak. And the steam penguin rising from the cocoa cup.

The security features on this money are amazing! She did "microprinting" strips as well as watermarks:

Amazing!

I don't have that many pictures from other days in this unit, but here are a bunch of good videos and explanations of various topics (many very timely!):

Drink activity—see what happens when prices increase (Chocolate milk, strawberry milk, two juices)

https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/resources/lessons/lesson--how-many-beverages-will-consumers-buy.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2BGJdCN8Cw&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=4 supply and demand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6lXppGBquI the role of prices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKW9XsRHZi0&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOsRPgdRXd8HFjpCNcQZl--9&index=7 price controls

Scarcity and Abundance:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs 1st three in playlist: scarcity, economic decisions, what is an economy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXfEEEcYSvo&list=PLU6AbyBWHPOvJNhiuJ2oKLOg77Udus7Fs&index=6 schools of economic thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qanDVZHliw the missing tile syndrome

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xxmORnnP3WI&t=11s the key to unhappiness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJEaFpS9ls The broken window fallacy

https://cafehayek.com/2016/02/40405.html richer than Rockefeller