teaching your children about change

Coin rubbings allow you to collect foreign currency without carrying a heavy pocketful of change home from vacation. They also make educational craft projects for children who are just learning to count money. Entertain kids on a rainy day and challenge their minds by giving them a variety of coins and asking them to create a rubbing of the coins that add up to certain dollar amounts. Kids enjoy watching the image of the coin appear on blank white or greaseproof paper.  If you have a coin collection of any kind it is fun to try rubbing's on paper with all the different coins. Since each coin has two different pictures, try using both the front and back sides of each coin. The more you try it, the more precise and detailed the coin rubbings become. This is also a good way to teach small children about coin denominations by giving them a project that teaches using both a visual and a textural message.


Things You'll Need:

• A4 White paper and/or greaseproof paper
• Soft lead pencil and/or coloured pencils and/or crayons
• Change of different coin sizes, shapes and denominations 
• A Flat Surface 
• An old, used or new frame (if desired)

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry the coins.
2. Put a coin on a flat surface, heads or tails side up. 
3. Lay a piece of thin white  or greaseproof (baking) paper on top of the coin where you want the impression of the coin to be
4. Hold the paper down firmly with your non-dominant hand. Make sure you hold the coin still too at the same time. If the coin moves while you are rubbing, the rubbed impression will be blurred.
5. Using the side of the pencil lead, not the pointy tip, begin rubbing back and forth across the surface of the underlying coin until an impression of the coin begins to appear. Be careful not to rub so hard that you rip the paper.
6. Continue rubbing until the whole coin is showing up on the paper. Make it as dark or light as you like. Repeat with the other side of the coin on another side of the paper. To add to the fun, follow these instructions again with foreign coins, different coloured pencils and crayons to create an artists pallet of coin rubbing's that can be framed, displayed and offered at fundraising market stalls.  

Tips: 
This activity in not recommended for unsupervised under school age children unless the coin is bigger than your child's ability to swallow it. Try not to rub too hard as a force of  hand may wear away the paper. This technique is also good for brass rubbing's   For more information  http://www.ehow.com/how_8159451_make-brass-rubbings.html 

Also, why not check out:

• The Coin Paper Magic Trick   http://www.ehow.com/how_2217368_do-coin-fold-illusion.html
• Free Magic Coin Tricks For Children  http://www.ehow.com/how_8081832_learn-magic-coin-tricks-kids.html
• How To Make A Coin Disappear Magic Trick 

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