Kids learn differences in currency
Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008
BENTONVILLE — When Jessica visited her friend Jose in Mexico for his birthday, she tried to buy something in a store but couldn’t because she had dollars, not pesos.
Jessica is a character in the coloring book “ Jessica’s Trip to Mexico, ” which was created by Northwest Arkansas Community College’s Students in Free Enterprise team. The SIFE team brought the book to life Saturday in a skit performed at the Bentonville Public Library.
“ It teaches kids that there are different currencies in different countries, ” said advisor Becky Hudson. “(The children ) love it. They sit there and soak it in. ”
SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that teach: market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills, and business ethics. The projects they create are each designed to fit at least one of those criteria.
NWACC’s SIFE team has presented the coloring book project for four years and performed the skit for three years. They’ve performed the skit at both the Bentonville and Rogers public libraries, as well as one school, Elmdale Elementary School in Springdale. The skit is in a mix of English and Spanish and it’s performed in such a way that children can understand the context of all the words. The coloring book has the text in both languages side by side. Children are presented a copy of the coloring book after the skit, said Jose Garcia, project leader.
“ It teaches them that the exchange rates are different, they get to learn about different cultures and they get to have fun, ” he said.
Shannon Tucker brought her son, Bryles Tucker, 3, to the skit. While he was most interested in the part of the skit that involved birthday cake, she liked that he was being introduced to the concept of a story time.
“ It was just a good day to get out and do something, ” she said.
Christian Jaynes, 12, was a little old for the skit but he brought his 5-year-old sister, Brianna Jaynes. He agreed that the skit and coloring book is a good way to get the younger children’s attention.
As far as what his sister liked, “ the coloring book, ” she said.
The SIFE team takes community-service projects to competitions each year. The team competed Thursday in Rogers for the regional competition and came in second runner up. The team was competing for a berth at the May 13-15 SIFE USA National Exposition in Chicago. NWACC’s SIFE team won its regional championship last year. NWACC has a 35-student team, its largest ever.
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