The classroom economy program is a robust classroom management system that benefits both teacher and students, and has minimal impact on the curriculum. Implementing the program is a simple three-step process:

• First, you spend a few hours before the school year starts—gathering materials and planning how to customize the program for your school and your own classroom.
• Second, you spend a few classroom hours in the first month of school introducing the program and teaching the children how to perform their tasks.
• Third, you monitor their progress throughout the year, helping them learn new tasks when appropriate, and providing support and guidance.

As they perform their tasks, the children are rewarded for helping you manage the classroom efficiently. They have fun and, at the same time, they learn valuable skills—such as responsibility and the value of saving–that they will carry with them throughout their lifetimes.

The beauty of the program is that you don't need to teach these lessons; rather, the children will experience them and learn for themselves. As one teacher told us, there's a thrill in seeing "the lightbulb go on" when a student realizes he or she hasn't saved enough money to buy a desirable item in the classroom store.

Core objectives for students in Grades K–1

Through My Classroom Economy, students learn valuable life skills in an experiential way.

Specifically, they are able to:

• Participate in a classroom economy designed to expose them to economic fundamentals.
• Perform specific classroom jobs to earn a salary.
• Purchase items at the school store with the money they earn.

At these grade levels, students earn and spend $1 bills in classroom economy currency. Earning and spending money reinforces their counting skills.