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Grades 2-3Parent Pointer
Help your child use mental math by estimating cost. Then have your child participate in the checkout process where the total is added up, money is exchanged, and change is returned.
What you'll need
Money
What to do
1. Have your child estimate the total price of items in a shopping cart. An easy way to estimate totals is to assign an average price to each item. If you have 10 items and the average price for each item is $2, the total price estimate would be about $20.
2. Using the estimated total, ask your child: If I have 10 one-dollar bills, how many ones will I have to give the clerk? If I have a 20- bill, how much change should I receive? If I get coins back, what coins will I get?
3. At the checkout counter, what is the actual cost? How does this compare to your estimate? When you pay for the items, will you get change back?
4. Count the change with your child to make sure the change is correct.
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