Learning math concepts doesn’t have to be boring or painful for kids.
In fact, all TVOKids TV shows are based on age-appropriate Ontario math curriculum but make learning fun by taking kids on fictional journeys.
Two TVOKids programs focused specially on math and financial literacy include Tumbletown Tale$ and Carney the Cat.
Financial Literacy
“(Carney the Cat) is another example of how TVOKids has taken the All Day Kindergarten program and created a series that introduces financial literacy to early learners,” says Pat Patricia Ellingson, Creative Head, Children’s Media Content and Programming, for TVOKids. The show is also accompanied by a web game.
Financial literacy for preschoolers is:
- Coin identification
- Currency amounts
- Learning that money is used to buy things
While financial literacy education doesn't begin in Ontario schools officially until Grade 4, producers for the TVOKids prechool morning block decided to start introducing kids to the age-appropriate concepts and information they they can understand now with Carney the Cat.
Carney the Cat Program
The show is set inside the This and That Shop, the corner store inside Gisèle’s Big Backyard, where a carnival-type machine presents five coins. When you push a button the machine starts and Carney the Coin Counting Cat rises and gives the audience three hints about a coin that he is thinking about: its colour, what’s on it and often what the name of it rhymes with. The ‘player’ must figure out which coin Carney is thinking about and press that button. If he gets it correct lights flash and the cat gets all excited.
Producers hope kids will come out of watching the segments with an understanding of the name of each coin, what each coin looks like, and how much money is represented by each coin.
Tumbletown Tale$ Program
The Tumbletown Tale$ series, meanwhile, is designed to help kids aged 6-11 understand that mathematics is not something to be afraid of but rather something to embrace, says Ellingson. “It can be fun,” she says. A brand new series of ten episodes focused on financial literacy are rolling out on TVOKids in The Space now.
The goal of the show is to:
- help kids think critically about money
- develop a realistic understanding of how to use money
- appreciate the value of money.
Also, chartered accountant and author of A Parent's Guide to Raising Money-Smart Kids, Robin Taub, gives three quick tips to help your kids become financially literate:
Here's the full interview:
