Changing Children’s Lives One Habit, Dream, and Dime at a Time!
Sammy Rabbit – Saving is a Great Habit Lesson and Activities
Color. Music. And More! Ages 3 to 5 (and older)
Tips
 Be sure 3 and 4 year olds, possibly 5 year olds, have their own parental or other individual supervision, unless they
clearly demonstrate they can work and follow directions on their own
 Pick and choose the activities you like. Go at your own pace. Complete what you are able to
 Make sure students are doing something: repeating words and phrases; clapping; singing; coloring; etc.
Time
 10 minutes to 1 hour. Schedule time based on your experience and how much support you have
Lesson and Objectives
 Expose students to the language of money
 Focus on:
o The terms: SAVE, SAVING
o The phrases and concepts: Saving money is a great habit and/or saving money
o Prioritizing saving money in the minds of students and having students making an association and connection
between money and saving
Techniques
For children between ages three and five you will want to rely heavily on the following techniques.
1. Follow the leader – You do, demonstrate or say something. They follow
2. Call and Respond – Have students repeat sentences out loud after you say them
Use phrases like: Repeat after me | Follow after me | I will do it, then you do
3. Use lots of praise
Demonstrate for students and use phrases like:
a. Everyone give yourself a big round of applause.
b. Everyone clap in a circle. Clap left to right. Clap up and down.
c. Everyone give yourself a pat on the shoulders.
d. Everyone give yourself a high five. Clap your two hands together like a high five.
4. Complete sentence. Fill in the word.
Say a sentence. “Saving is a great habit!” Have students repeat the sentence.
Then say the sentence again leaving out a word and have students complete the sentence.
“Saving is a great _____________!”
Changing Children’s Lives One Habit, Dream, and Dime at a Time!
Resources
1. Sammy Coloring Book – Saving is a Great Habit!
2. Sammy Music (Use CD or music online at YouTube: search “itsahabitonline”)
a. S-A-V-E
b. Get in the Habit
c. Lemonade Stand
3. Sammy Storybook – It’s a Habit, Sammy Rabbit (Optional)
4. Crayons, markers, pencils for coloring. Blank papers to supplement coloring book
Activities
Practice AFFIRMATIONS. Instruction.
Have students repeat after you the following AFFIRMATIONS. Repeat each affirmation 3 or more times.
Do hand gestures with each affirmation
 I am going to save money!
 Saving money is a great habit!
 It’s smart to save a little every time we earn or receive money!
Practice DEFINITIONS. Instruction.
Have students repeat after you the following DEFINITIONS. Repeat each definition 3 or more times.
Do hand gestures with each definition
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SAVING means to keep, hold on to, put away, store up, and use later, another day, another time, in the future, in
one week, in one month, in one year. Saving means we keep some of our money for later NOT NOW!
MONEY is coins or dollar bills. Show students each coin.
This is a penny. One cent!
This is a nickel. Five cents! Five pennies!
This is a dime. Ten cents. Ten pennies. Two nickels!
This is a quarter. Twenty five cents! Twenty five pennies. Five nickels! Two dimes and one nickel!
This is a dollar. One hundred cents! One hundred pennies. Twenty nickels. Ten dimes. Four quarters.
A HABIT is something we do over and over, again and again, like brushing our teeth or saving money!
MUSIC. Optional. Instruction.
 Listen to, sing and clap to the song S-A-V-E
 And/or listen to, sing and clap to the song Get in the Habit. Teach kids the chorus.
Have students repeat chorus out loud two or three times. Play chorus once. Start song. Start singing.
CHORUS
Get in the habit, like Sammy Rabbit
Saving money all the time
You can do it, now let’s get to it
From every dollar, save a dime
Changing Children’s Lives One Habit, Dream, and Dime at a Time!
READ and COLOR. Instruction.
 Sammy Coloring Book – Saving is a Great Habit!
 Read students the coloring book one, two or three pages at a time. Start with the COVER page and title of coloring
book: Saving is a Great Habit!
 Have students repeat sentences and key phrases after you.
 Have students color. Play Sammy music while kids color
WRITING. Optional. Instruction.
 Have students write one or all of the following phrases on a blank sheet of paper
Saving is a great habit | Saving is a smart choice
READ SAMMY STORYBOOK. Optional. Instruction.
 Sammy Storybook – It’s a Habit, Sammy Rabbit!
 Read students story book one chapter at a time.
Complete as much as you can
Have students repeat key phrases of story
REVIEW. PRACTICE QUESTIONS and ANSWERS. Instruction.
 What do the words saving money mean?
Everyone repeat after me.
SAVING means to keep and use later NOT NOW
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When do we want to save?
Everyone repeat after me.
We want to save every time we earn or receive money
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How much do we want to save?
Everyone repeat after me.
Save a little every time we earn or receive money! OR
Save as much as we can. OR
From every dollar, save at least a dime!
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Where do we want to save?
Everyone repeat after me.
In a savings jar. At the bank. At the credit union.
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What happens to our money when we get in the habit of saving it?
Everyone repeat after me.
Our money (and savings) grows and grows and grows!
OPTIONAL. ADD LINES.
So, later, we can do lots of things. When we want to. When we need to.
So we can make big dreams come true, like going to college! So we can help other people. So we can buy toys.
MAKE SAMMY’S SAVING PROMISE
Changing Children’s Lives One Habit, Dream, and Dime at a Time!
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Sammy Coloring Book – Saving is a Great Habit!
Complete page 13
Have students say Sammy’s Saving Promise out loud
Have students sign Sammy’s Saving Promise
Optional. Have students make their own frame and frame Sammy’s Saving Promise after they sign it!