Ever since COVID, big venues have stopped taking cash and are only dealing with ATM and credit cards. I tried to pay for a drink the other day with quarters, and I was informed we don’t take change.

So what will we do if the grid goes down and there is no way to take payment via electronic methods?

Will our employees be prepared to receive cash as payment?

Yesterday, I attended the OC Fair. We were having a great time after the concert and went in search of an ice cream cone. We finally found a stand, but after 15 minutes of waiting in line, we sought out why the line wasn’t moving. The system had gone down and the boy at the cash register was trying to figure out how much change to give the customer. After a few minutes of failing to figure out what change he needed to give, another worker appeared. He, too, struggled to count out the change coming to the customer whose ice cream was now melting. The cones cost 16 dollars and the customer gave him a $20 and a single dollar bill. The by just needed to give him back a $5, but since the cash register wasn’t working, the employee couldn’t figure out have to make the necessary change.

It was clearly frustrating for the customer and employee. The worker was accustomed to trusting whatever the electronic cash register told him to give the customer in change. Without that assistance, he couldn’t figure it out. I suggested he count up with ones from 16 until he got to 21. Only then could he be sure he was giving the right change. The line continued to grow because the electronic assistance failed.

This was not just simple math, but practical math. As more demand is placed on electronic use for payment, there is a greater chance of shutdowns as I experienced at the fair.

Let’s get back to teaching practical math!

Pay your children with change. Teach them how to convert that change to dollars. Take them to a bank and deposit the money, while directing them to record each deposit in an old fashion check register. Check their addition with each deposit. Allow them to withdraw their money after saving it for a time to purchase something you won’t pay for. Double check their subtraction. This activity gives real purpose to mastering basic addition and subtraction facts.

As their money grows, have them transfer it to an interest bearing account. Have them watch what they earn in dividends. Require they double check the interest being paid by using their multiplication knowledge.

Take them grocery shopping. Get them a children’s cart and allow them to collect the foods they will like for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Required them to estimate the cost of their basket by rounding the amount of each item as they place it in the basket. This is a great memory exercise. Then compare what they calculated and what the actual cost of the basket comes to at checkout.

What ideas do you have to teach practical math? Please share below.