Coinciding with Financial Literacy Month in April is the Mullica Hill library’s Money Monsters Workshop to teach kids the importance of money, financial literacy and costs of certain items.
The workshop is a free financial education resource created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),” according to Stephanie Smith, the library’s Head of Youth Services.
“The Money Monsters are fictional characters who are new to this universe,” she explained. “Through the use of storybooks and activities, the Money Monsters learn about the concepts of money, as will children who read them.
“The goal of the workshop is to introduce children to money and financial stability,” Smith added. “They will learn concepts like how to save money, what things really cost, how to protect things that are important to us and more.”
The workshop is split into three parts, all on Mondays. The first is April 10, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The second takes place a week later, on April 17, with the same hours. The third and final workshop is scheduled for May 1 at 4:30 p.m. Children 5 through 10 can participate.
This is the first time that the library is hosting the workshop, which came about when the CFPB offered resources to the library.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent out postcards promoting the workshop,” Smith noted. “They offered free storybooks and materials and even more resources on their website. This is the first financial literacy curriculum for children I have seen, and I jumped at the chance to utilize it.
“Children can expect to read a story and participate in several activities as we learn money concepts,” she added. “Each child will receive a free copy of their storybooks to refer to again.”
Parents can register their child for the Money Monsters workshop on the Gloucester County Library System’s (GCLS) website. Each attendee must be registered separately with name, email and phone number.
There are openings for all three sessions, but seating is currently limited, and each part of the workshop will have to be registered separately, since they are listed as three different events on the library system website.
