If you are preparing for your U.S. coins unit and practicing identifying coins and counting coin collections, you do not want to miss out on this collection of children's picture books! Each picture book is unique in its content, but helps to create a deeper understanding of coins, their coin value, and even their coin history! Some of the picture books have beautiful illustrations, while others have bold photographs displaying each of the U.S. Coins. Take a peek at the list and the summary of each picture book to determine the best fit for your U.S. Coins lessons!

The Best Collection of Picture Books to Teach Identifying Coins, Coin Values, & Counting Coin Collections

Get ready for your U.S. Coins unit for identifying coins and counting coin collections with the best collection of picture books! 

I saved my child's FAVORITE picture book for the end of the list, so don't stop your scroll. Keep reading to find your favorite! 

* Please note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items that I use regularly and know you will love!

The Coin Counting Book by Rozanne Lanczak Williams

From one penny to one-dollar, readers will learn the various coins, their relationships, and how to add them all together once their piggybanks are full.  The simple rhyming text makes coin recognition, addition, and skip-counting fun and approachable for readers new to counting and currency. Mathematicians will love the detailed photos of real money that depict each coin and its value in The Coin Counting Book. 

The Penny Pot by Stuart J. Murphy

Counting coin collections have never been more fun! Life-size coins and a cat named Chester will soon have mathematicians confidently counting coins along with Jessie and her friends at the face-painting booth. Your mathematicians will fall in love with Chester and coins in The Penny Pot.

Lots and Lots of Coins by Margarette S. Reid

A coin is a piece of history you can hold in your hands! Coins are mostly round, made of metal, and have different values. They come in many different sizes, and some have historical faces on them, or animals, or even buildings. Lots and Lots of Coins is full of fun facts and insights about the history of coins and the money we use today. 

One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money by Bonnie Worth

Laugh and learn with fun facts about money, including pennies, dollars, gold, and more—all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat! Take your mathematicians on a journey through time to see the history of money in One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money.

Follow the Money by Loreen Leedy

I picked up this title the other day to add to my personal math library. While it sat on the couch waiting to be indexed and shelved, my third grader picked it up and didn't set it down until she finished the book! She was fascinated by the personification used by the author. George is quite the character!

George, a newly minted quarter on his way to the bank, is in for quite a day. He's about to be traded, spent, lost, found, donated, dropped into a vending machine, washed in a washing machine, and generally passed all around town. By the time George finally ends up back at the bank, he's given mathematicians a real run for their money. You need to check out, Follow the Money. 

I know this collection of high-quality picture books about U.S. coins and money will help your mathematicians create a deeper understanding of coins, their coin value, and even their coin history! 

Read more »

Laura Williams

Rekenreks are a powerful number sense tool in the elementary math classroom. So why aren't more teachers using them? Often times, the cost of rekenreks prevent teachers from using them. Purchasing a rekenrek, much less a class set of rekenreks, can break the bank! I have made plenty of rekenreks to use with my mathematicians so I wanted to show you a simple AND cost-effective way of making your own class set of rekenreks!

I'll show you how to make DIY rekenreks using two different types of materials. You can pick the best option for your budget or supply closet... wait, what's that?! I get you, it might be called "Walmart" or "Amazon."

The directions below are for PLASTIC CANVAS DIY rekenreks, scroll down and see if this is a good-fit for your classroom. 

If not, click here to read the directions for FOAM DIY rekenreks.

HOW TO USE CANVAS FOR A DIY REKENREK

* Please note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items that I use regularly and know you will love!

Materials Need for EACH Rekenrek: 

• 2 x 8 inches Plastic Canvas pieces (I found “Plastic Canvas Bookmarks” at Hobby Lobby that were pre-cut. 8 pieces per pack.)
• 10 red pony beads
• 10 white pony beads
• 2 black pipe cleaners
• tape

1. Gather the materials. 

You will need the materials listed above specifically, which include plastic canvas, pony beads, pipe cleaners, and tape.

2. Weave pipe cleaners through the plastic canvas. 

I counted four empty units, to the right and from the top, before inserting the pipe cleaner. I repeated this process for the second pipe cleaner, but I counted the units to the right and from the bottom. 

3. Add five red and five white pony beads per pipe cleaner.

It is IMPERITIVE that you place the pony beads in the correct order, using only red and white colors.

The colors and arrangement of colors are intentional to support mathematicians seeing the number and keeping the tool consistent across settings. 

4. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaners on the back of the plastic canvas to secure.

I connected the top and bottom rows together on each side snuggly.

5. Add a little tape around the ends of the pipe cleaners to prevent poking. 

I haven't had any trouble with this, but you never know, right?!

6. Push pony beads across the rows to use.

Slide the beads across the rows to use! Remember, "white to the right!" All of the pony beads start on the right side of the rekenrek. Beads are slid from right to left.

If this isn't a good-fit for your classroom, try FOAM DIY rekenreks.

Want the printable directions for DIY rekenreks sent straight to your inbox? Fill out the form below! 

Built with ConvertKit

If you want to hit the ground running using rekenreks with your elementary math classroom, you might be interested in my ultimate Rekenrek Toolkit.

My Rekenrek Toolkit is complete with these printable directions, lesson plans, printables for your mathematicians, number booklets, puzzles, and so much more! 

I have used the tools found in this toolkit in my personal classroom to teach mathematicians how to use rekenreks and it is now a classroom favorite! 

Rekenreks are great for composing and decomposing numbers, as shown in the photograph below.

Mathematicians learn how to structure numbers one through 20 using rekenreks.

Check out the Rekenrek Toolkit now to see if it's a good-fit for your classroom!

I hope this post inspires you create rekenreks for your elementary math classroom to support your mathematicians' number sense. 

What materials will you use to create your rekenreks? I'd love to see them in action! 

Tag me on social media --> @downriveredu

Make sure to pin and save this post for future reference.

Read more »

Laura Williams

Rekenreks are a powerful number sense tool in the elementary math classroom. So why aren't more teachers using them? Often times, the cost of rekenreks prevent teachers from using them. Purchasing a rekenrek, much less a class set of rekenreks, can break the bank! I have made plenty of rekenreks to use with my mathematicians so I wanted to show you a simple AND cost-effective way of making your own class set of rekenreks!

I'll show you how to make DIY rekenreks using two different types of materials. You can pick the best option for your budget or supply closet... wait, what's that?! I get you, it might be called "Walmart" or "Amazon."

The directions below are for FOAM DIY rekenreks, scroll down and see if this is a good-fit for your classroom. 

If not, click here to read the directions for PLASTIC CANVAS DIY rekenreks.

HOW TO USE FOAM FOR A DIY REKENREK

* Please note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items that I use regularly and know you will love!

Materials Need for EACH Rekenrek: 

• 3 x 5 ½ inches foam piece (I found a pack of colored foam at Walmart and used one side to give me this measurement. The longer the foam, the more defined, or clearer, the beads “in play” will be though. Eight inches in length shows the space between the beads “in play” and the beads “resting.”) 
• 10 red pony beads
• 10 white pony beads
• 2 black pipe cleaners
• hole punch
• silver Sharpie marker
• tape

1. Gather the materials. 

You will need the materials listed above specifically, which include foam, pony beads, pipe cleaners, hole punch, silver Sharpie marker, and tape.

2. Punch four holes in the foam using hole punch.

I'd love to tell you that I measure the distance from the end for each hole, but I merely eyeball it! 

3. Insert pipe cleaners through the holes in the foam. 

Place the pipe cleaner through the hole and pull across the foam to insert it through the second hole. Repeat this process for the second pipe cleaner. The two pipe cleaners should form two parallel lines.

4. Add five red and five white pony beads per pipe cleaner.

It is IMPERITIVE that you place the pony beads in the correct order, using only red and white colors.

The colors and arrangement of colors are intentional to support mathematicians seeing the number and keeping the tool consistent across settings. 

5. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaners on the back of the foam to secure.

OPTIONAL: Add a little tape around the ends of the pipe cleaners to prevent poking. 

I haven't had any trouble with this, but you never know, right?!

6. Push pony beads across the rows to use.

Slide the beads across the rows to use! Remember, "white to the right!" 

All of the pony beads start on the right side of the rekenrek. Beads are slid from right to left.

OPTIONAL: Add a smiley face to the upper right-hand corner to help with directionality. 

If this isn't a good-fit, try PLASTIC CANVAS DIY rekenreks.

Want the printable directions for DIY rekenreks sent straight to your inbox? Fill out the form below! 

Built with ConvertKit

If you want to hit the ground running using rekenreks with your elementary math classroom, you might be interested in my ultimate Rekenrek Toolkit.

My Rekenrek Toolkit is complete with these printable directions, lesson plans, printables for your mathematicians, number booklets, puzzles, and so much more! 

I have used the tools found in this toolkit in my personal classroom to teach mathematicians how to use rekenreks and it is now a classroom favorite! 

Rekenreks are great for composing and decomposing numbers, as shown in the photograph below.

Mathematicians learn how to structure numbers one through 20 using rekenreks.

Check out the Rekenrek Toolkit now to see if it's a good-fit for your classroom!

I hope this post inspires you create rekenreks for your elementary math classroom to support your mathematicians' number sense. 

What materials will you use to create your rekenreks? I'd love to see them in action! 

Tag me on social media --> @downriveredu

Make sure to pin and save this post for future reference.

Read more »

Laura Williams