Customer Reviews

The ABC's of Handling Money God's Way

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Looking for a way to introduce godly handling of money to young children? I highly recommend Howard and Bev Dayton's The ABCs of Handling Money God's Way. Offering a unique blend of interesting storyline and biblical fact, it's hard to imagine a better way to introduce your child to the world of money.

The book begins with a fully illustrated story of a group of young friends. They decide they want a puppy, but one child's mother mentions how expensive a puppy can be. This is a revelation to the children; they never realized puppies cost money. So the mother decides to teach the kids the basics of money.

As they go through the mother's lessons, the children decide to do extra chores at home to earn money for a puppy. They also pray that God will provide a way for them to get a dog. One child is tempted to spend the money on other things, but eventually decides to save for the puppy instead. All the kids are tempted to go into debt to buy a puppy, but instead help someone in need. In the end, the person they help gives them a puppy her dog gave birth to.

"'God has taught you a great lesson,' Mrs. Day said. 'You worked hard. You gave to someone who was poor. You saved some of your money. And you were honest. The Lord blessed you because you were faithful stewards.'

'Let's name the puppy Steward!' Elizabeth shouted. 'His name will help us remember to be faithful stewards with our money.'"

Each chapter teaches a lesson in a kid-friendly way. In one chapter, kids learn God owns everything. In another, that God wants everyone to be good stewards of the money and things he gives them. Later, children learn God wants them to work hard at whatever they do and that they should give away at least 10% of what they earn. Kid also learn about saving money, and about prioritizing wants and needs. They learn debt should be avoided and that, when needed, they should seek council from their parents about money. Along the way, kids also learn the importance of honesty, hard work, and having Jesus as your best friend.

Each chapter is about 3 pages and ends with 2 worksheet pages. One worksheet page contains questions on what the Bible says about money, while the opposite page asks kids to identify different kinds of coins or behavior related to money.

Throughout, biblical references are given.

What I Like: First and foremost, I'm delighted my 4 1/2 year old finds this book engaging. She enjoys the storyline about the puppy, and can relate to it. One read of this book also had her asking to do extra chores to earn money for a toy she's been wanting. I also really LOVE the fact that this book isn't merely about dollars and cents. It also teaches about good work ethic and generosity.

The illustrations, which feature children of many skin colors, are expressive and interesting, and the add-ons, like easy Bible verses to memorize and simple questions and activities to do, are also most appreciated. The concepts covered are all simple - with the exception of giving about 10% of what we earn. However, the authors do give young children a generally easy way to understand how much, minimally, they should give: "You give one penny out of every ten pennies you receive. You can give more if you want."

What I Dislike: Nothing, really, although I might prefer it if the kids weren't given a puppy. It's absolutely true God rewards us for faithfulness - but as adults know, he doesn't always do so in ways we expect.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Kristina Seleshanko
Christian Children's Book Review

I've been teaching my 5 year about money. What a great tool! My son and I are both learning how to manage our finances according to God and his Word. I love it. It's also a great time to bond together and touch a topic that is so needed in today's economy.

If you are homeschooling or using The ABCs of Handling Money God's Way, the teacher's guide will make things very easy for you. There is a lesson outline for each of the 12 lessons and 1-2 activities for each lesson to supplement the text. You also wouldn't need to purchase a book for every student and instead only buy one book and 1 teacher's guide to use the curriculum with a class. The prayer pages are in the back of the teacher's guide and can be reproduced.

As for the text itself, my kids are enjoying the book. The text is very short for each lesson and we've been reading 2 lessons a day at lunch for the past week. This is perfect for 5-6 year olds if you want to talk to them about money and introduce them to the basic concepts of saving, giving, and spending.

WE love this book. I have made jars for the kids to teach them the money principles taught in this book. Perfect for training your children to be good stewards!