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A Preschool Money Craft (Money Use Sand Art Craft)

By: Author Amanda L. Grossman

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A preschool money craft that will help teach young children a bit more about how money works (in a fun, visual way).

I’m excited to share this preschool money craft because it's going to help young children start wrapping their heads around some important money concepts.

three jars of sand with one jar filled with all three colors, text overlay "a fun preschool money craft activity with free printables to help"

We want kids to understand their role in deciding how money gets used, and that money can be used in various ways.

To keep this on a preschool level, we're going to focus just on these money concepts:

  • You get to decide how to use money you have.
  • Money is used in different ways. Spending it on needs, spending it on wants, and saving it are three ways.
  • You must first spend money on needs before you can spend it on wants or save it.
  • People use most of their money to spend on needs, then some of their money to spend on wants, and some of their money is saved for a later time.

Money Use Preschool Lesson

Here's how I see this preschool money lesson playing out.

You’ll want to jingle a jar of coins in front of your class and ask them what this is (I can see that excitement building in their eyes!).

hand holding up jar of lots of coins

Hopefully, they all exclaim something like “Money! Coins! Allowance! Change jar!” etc.

Next, you’ll want to tell them that we decide how to use the money that we have. Kids, teens, parents, etc., all must decide how to use the money that they have.

So, how do you decide to use the money?

Kids will likely come up with all kinds of answers. Perhaps it's because they want to buy something they saw at a friend's house. Maybe they saw a commercial for something, and they want to buy it.

After you allow for some responses, let the kids know that money is used in lots of different ways. And you’re going to focus on three of those ways today:

  • use money to spend on needs
  • use money to spend on wants
  • use money to save it

They’ll be making their own Money Use Sand Art Craft, with three different colored sands that represent the three different ways to use money that we're focusing on for this lesson.

Here are free printables to help go over what a need is, what a want is, and the piggy bank represents saving money for later.

Ask the children which type of money uses (spend on needs, spend on wants, save) they think people use most of their money for?

The answer is spending on needs. Things like bills (rent or mortgage payments, electricity costs, etc.) and expenses (like grocery store food spending, or spending money on gas at the gas station).

People use the remaining money, represented by two colored sands, to spend on wants (such as buying movie tickets or buying a new book), and to save (set it aside to not spend right now).

Money Use Sand Art Craft for Preschoolers   

Supplies: a jar full of coins, three other jars, a funnel, a sand art jar for each child, and three bags of different colored sand (enough for everyone to complete the activity)

You’ll want to set up a table with three jars of three different colored sands. Write on three pieces of paper what each color represents: spend on needs, spend on wants, and save.

three jars of different colored sand on three different printables

OR, download these free printables.

Each preschooler will get their own sand art jar that they’ll create and take home.

They will first fill their jar mostly with the sand color for spending on needs. Help them understand that roughly 50% or half of their jar of money should be used to pay for needs. Then they’ll decide how to use the two remaining jars of sand that represent spending on wants and saving money.   

At the end, you can take a marker and write “Save, Wants, Needs” that the three layers of sand represent.

hand holding a three-colored sand jar with "Needs", "Wants", and "Save" written on different layers

Hint: you can tell them that half of their money use should go towards needs, and then they can divide up the last two categories or sands as they wish.

When all is said and done, the kids will have a simple, colorful money craft to take home with them to remind them that there are different ways they can use they money, and different ways that people use their money. What a great lesson to teach!

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Amanda L. Grossman

Chief Creator at Money Prodigy
Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), a 2017 Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Money Prodigy. Her money work has been featured on Experian, GoBankingRates, PT Money, CA.gov, Rockstar Finance, the Houston Chronicle, and Colonial Life. Amanda is the founder and CEO of Frugal Confessions, LLC. Read more here or on LinkedIn.