Money Magic in Class 4 – A Lesson to Remember

 

One sunny morning, Class 4 at Balbharati Primary was buzzing with excitement. Miss Anita, their favourite teacher, had a surprise for them.

“Today,” she smiled, “we’re going to talk about something super important—but don’t worry, it’ll be fun!”

The students leaned forward eagerly.

“Tell me,” Miss Anita began, “if I gave you ₹100, what would you do with it?”

Hands shot up. “Buy a toy car!” shouted Aryan. “Chocolates!” giggled Meera. “I’d save it!” said Riya shyly.

Miss Anita nodded. “Good! But what if I told you, you could do all three—if you plan it right?”

The class gasped.

“Let’s start with budgeting,” she continued, drawing three boxes on the board: Spend, Save, and Share.

“Imagine you get ₹100 every month as pocket money. You could spend ₹50 on fun things, save ₹40 for something big like a cricket bat, and maybe share ₹10 to buy a birthday gift for your friend.”

She handed out colourful budget sheets and crayons. “Now you try!”

The children excitedly began drawing how they would divide their money. Some even added little drawings of snacks, books, and piggy banks.

After a few minutes, Miss Anita clapped her hands. “Great work! Now, let’s talk about saving.”

She pulled out a glass jar with a sticker on it that read "My Dream Trip".

“This is my savings jar,” she said. “Every week, I drop in a little money to save up for a holiday.”

“Cool!” said Rohan. “Can I make one too?”

“Of course! And here’s the fun part. If you reach your goal, I’ll add a small bonus—just like banks give interest.”

The class cheered.

“Now, here’s a tricky one,” she said, drawing two columns: Needs and Wants.

“Is chocolate a need or a want?” she asked.

“Want!” came the chorus.

“And school shoes?”

“Need!”

Miss Anita smiled. “Exactly. Learning to tell the difference helps us spend wisely. Let’s play a game. I’ll show you pictures, and you put them in the right box.”

The room filled with laughter and some debate (“But ma’am, a video game is totally a need!”).

Finally, she whispered, “Let me tell you a secret… Do you know what investing is?”

Blank stares.

“Imagine planting a mango seed,” she said, holding one up. “You water it, give it sunlight, and wait. One day, it grows into a tree with lots of mangoes. Investing money is just like that. You plant it today, and one day, it grows!”

She handed out small paper trees. “This is your ‘Money Tree’. Every month you save or invest, colour one leaf green. Let’s see how green your tree can get!”

As the bell rang, the kids didn’t want to leave.

“Miss, can we do more money magic tomorrow?” Aryan asked.

“Of course,” she smiled. “We’ve only learned four concepts today—budgeting, saving, needs vs. wants, and investing. There are many more!”

And just like that, a simple classroom turned into a magical world of financial wisdom—one coin, one choice at a time.

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