Describe the Issue or Situation.

In August 2024, four fifth grade teachers at Collins Elementary and I had a discussion about me providing lessons on economics and financial literacy. Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, I provided lessons from the 4-H curriculum, Money Fundaments: A Youth Guide for Learning About Money-Book 1. Prior to April 2025, topics that were discussed in the classroom setting included money personality profiles, needs versus wants, and budgeting. One morning in April 2025, I presented the Dollars & Sense program to sixty-six 5^th grade students at Collins Elementary School. In this activity, students received an allowance for a given month and then had the opportunity to spend that allowance at the twelve booths provided.

Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).

I implemented the Dollars & Sense program to 5^th grade students at Collins Elementary because the teachers there wanted me to teach lessons on how to budget and spend money wisely. In order to implement this activity, I coordinated with the school to find a time and space that would be accommodating. To prepare for this program, I made place cards for each booth, bought items for students to purchase, worked with teachers to find volunteers, and made copies of the paperwork needed to be given to the students for this activity.

Partners who were involved included Boone County extension employees, Collins Elementary 5^th grade teachers and paraprofessionals, a sister and mother of one of the 5^th grade teachers, and some parents of the students who were participating in the activity.

Provide the Number and Description(s) of Participants/Target Audience.

Collins Elementary is a Title I school that receives federal funding to support their students who are at risk of not meeting state academic standards. Sixty-six 5th grade students participated in the Dollars & Sense program in April 2025. They were given $200 ($180 after taxes) and there were twelve booths that they could make purchases from. Before the activity began, I informed each class to think of the stations in terms of wants versus needs. There were four stations that every student had to go to first and make a purchase. These stations were Fast Foods, Health & Grooming, Transportation, and Veterinarian. Although they had to go to the other eight stations, they didn’t have to make any purchases if they did not want to. These stations were Bedroom Décor, Candy Store, Contributions, Chance, Department Store, Entertainment, Pet Care, and Toy Store.

Provide a Statement of Outcomes or Program Impact. Please note that the outcomes statement must use evaluation data to describe the change(s) that occurred in individuals, groups, families, businesses, or in the community because of the program/outreach.

After the activity was completed, students were given an assessment to complete. After the program, 89% of students reported that they would sometimes or always think about the cost of an item before they purchased it. After the program, 88% of students reported that they sometimes or always planned to think about their budget before making purchases.  All four 5^th grade teachers verbally reported to me that they enjoyed the activity and that they hoped that I would bring it back to their school during the 2025-2026 school year.