Money
This topic covers 3 learning steps, guiding your child from the basics through to confident problem-solving. Each step includes a worked example and adaptive practice questions.
What Your Child Will Learn
- Adding Coins
Add coins together - Change from £1
Calculate change from £1 - Word Problems
Money word problems
Common Mistakes
- Forgetting that £1 = 100p (not converting between pounds and pence correctly)
Practise conversions regularly: "150p is the same as £1.50" and "£2.30 is the same as 230p." Use real money to make it concrete. - Struggling with giving change (not knowing how to count up from the price to the amount paid)
Count up from the price: "The item costs £2.35, you paid £5. From £2.35, add 65p to get £3, then add £2 more to reach £5. Change = £2.65." This is how shopkeepers count change.
Tips for Parents
- Give your child a small budget (real or pretend) at a shop and let them choose items that fit within it — budgeting is powerful maths.
- Practise counting change by counting UP from the price to the amount paid — this is easier than subtracting.
- Set up a "MathCraft Market" at home with priced items. Make your child the shopkeeper who gives change.
- When eating out, look at the menu together and ask: "How much would a sandwich and a drink cost? Do we have enough for dessert too?"
Key Words
- Change — The money you get back when you pay more than the price.
- Total cost — The full price when you add up everything you are buying.
- Budget — A set amount of money you have to spend.
- Decimal point — The dot that separates pounds from pence — £3.50 means 3 pounds and 50 pence.
Where This Fits
Before this topic: Children should recognise all coins and notes, and add amounts under £1.
After this topic: Money problems with change lead to multi-step word problems, decimal calculations, and real-world budgeting skills.
How MathCraft Teaches This
In MathCraft, Money is taught through the Money, Data & Measure adventure track. Your child follows guided lessons with friendly characters, works through examples step by step, then practises with questions that adapt to their level.
The adaptive engine tracks mastery across all 3 steps, revisiting concepts your child finds tricky and advancing when they're ready. Parents can see detailed progress in the Parent Dashboard.
Practise Money with MathCraft
Step-by-step lessons, worked examples, and adaptive practice — all wrapped in an adventure game your child will love.
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