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Money lesson teaches kids to ‘savealot’

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Sir Savealot, the People’s State Bank mascot, and Kari Kronberg, debit card manager, shared a lesson about saving and earning money with Mrs. Oppreicht’s kindergarten class at B.A. Kennedy Friday, April 20. Kronberg showed the students different dollar bills and questioned them on what they could buy with them. (Photo by Correne Martin)

By Correne Martin

Learning to save and earn money are essential life skills that aren’t regular school curriculum pillars. But Mrs. Oppreicht’s kindergarten class at B.A. Kennedy Elementary School had the chance to read about those topics, listen to a local banking professional and meet Sir Savealot last week. 

On Friday, April 20, Kari Kronberg, debit card manager at People’s State Bank in downtown Prairie du Chien, introduced the bank’s mascot to her daughter and 13 of her classmates in Mrs. Oppreicht’s room. They hugged and high-fived Sir Savealot and relished in the opportunity to take their class picture with him.

The students and Kronberg discussed what dollar bills and coins mean, what can be purchased with them and what to do if we don’t have enough money to buy the things we want—like if we wanted a $550 snake, as one child explained. The kids also answered questions about how they earn money and what they do with it. They were excited to share about their personal piggy banks and that they earn money by losing teeth and doing chores, etc. They also learned that banks exist to collect and protect people’s funds.

After the short lesson, Kronberg read the picture book, “A chair for my mother,” by Vera B. Williams. The story tells about Rosa, her mom and grandma. After their home is destroyed by a fire, they all save their coins to buy a really comfortable chair for everyone to enjoy. A chair mom can relax in when her feet hurt at the end of the day. A chair grandma can sit in while cutting potatoes for dinner. To save for the chair, the mom puts half her tip money in the jar after every work day. The grandma takes leftover money from whenever she finds a bargain and puts that into the jar as well. Finally, they have enough coins to exchange at the bank for bills. Then, they go shopping and get their dream chair—the best chair in the “whole wide world.”

People’s State Bank’s presentation was part of a Teach Children to Save Program, which was a way to celebrate Financial Literacy Month. April 21-28 week is actually Money Smart Week. As part of these events, Peoples State employees are reading “A chair for my mother” and teaching students about money in the following schools: Prairie du Chien Public and Catholic, River Ridge, Seneca, Wauzeka, Boscobel, Fennimore, Lancaster and Guttenberg. 

These effort are an opportunity for bankers to demonstrate their commitment to community by teaching young people the values of earning money by working hard and then saving that money for needs and desires. The Teach Children to Save program was established by the American Bankers Association, with the aim of encouraging kids to develop a good savings habit as early as possible in their financial life.

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