My husband helped in concession stand last night with our grand daughters softball team. They were 8 and 9 year olds and he was trying to teach them how to do the math in order to give change-not an easy task.
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I worked as a car hop in my teens, and learned early and fast how to give change. You do NOT have to figure out how much is left, you simply start counting FROM the amount owed and go on to the amount handed you. Someone gives you 20 dollars for a seventeen dollar 55 cent purchase...start handing back 2 dimes and count ==65--75 (then a quarter) eighteen (NOW 2 dollar bills)nineteen== twenty dollars. Thank you for shopping with us, have a nice day.
If you work kids like that, using real change and bills, it'll soon become easy for them.
A month or so ago I stopped at a yard sale, gave a late teen girl a 5 dollar bill AND A QUARTER for a 4.25 cent purchase, expecting to get a dollar back because she had a mass of ones in her cash box. She stood there looking at that quarter and holding the 5 dollar bill in the other hand....an adult male from her house finally suggested she give me a one dollar bill. He didn't look any too happy, just looked at me and shrugged. I could see him talking to her in the rear view mirror...she didn't look like she wanted to learn either!!