Counting Money Activities

Let's face it...there are TONS of mathematic concepts that we've been taught,  which we can honestly say we have NEVER used in our everyday lives, nor ever use them in the future! I mean, who can say they've ever had to use the Pythagorean theorem or know the square root of anything in their adult lives? I mean this as no offense whatsoever to all of the math teachers in the world and give them tons of credit for all they do. I am simply leading into some activities that I have used for my students to enforce a math concept that will constantly be used in the future...concepts of money! As a teacher of special needs students, these are crucial life skills that will be used their entire lives and are far more beneficial to this population than exponents, angles, and other, more abstract concepts. Here are some activities to use at home or in a classroom for students of varying ability levels to teach concepts of money...

Practice sorting coins using fake money and small cups

Label envelopes with specific dollar amounts and have students place the correct amount of faux dollar bills in each envelope

Practice combining coins to create the amount written on each envelope (I always include a picture of the item they are "purchasing" to empahsize the fact that money allows us to buy the things we want)

I would loooove to hear ideas you all have for helping your students and children understand concepts of money. Let me know!