Emma and Johnny both enjoyed looking through these pennies, and Emma did a great job of sorting them from darkest to lightest. Johnny also loves putting pennies in this book. Both activities are, of course, limited to graduates of the Stick Everything You Can Reach In Your Mouth School. 
I got paid one penny per hour of violin practice as a child – starting at the age of four. I think I occasionally got pennies for other chores as well, and I was the queen of “earning” tips by looking cute while my brother and sisters sold my grandpa’s corn from the back of a pickup truck. I remember cutting open the plastic bank and counting my pennies when I was seven or eight years old and having a little over fourteen dollars.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
My kids would just try to shove them into their own banks! Cute picture!
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I never thought about grading pennies by color… Maybe we should do some coin polishing tomorrow.
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That’s funny because I just wrote today about how loose change can really add up. Looks like the kids had fun. My little ones love to dig through coins, too, though I rarely dare to let them do it since the toddler is always underfoot!
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Love your penny memories…so cute. Pretty impressed by the darkest to light sorting.
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I love the pic! My kids love sorting through their coins too!!!
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I love the picture. I think your kids could earn the same tips for being cute :) Interesting idea about a penny for a difficult chore – I was mulling something like this but decided to hold off until Anna is 4.
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Mike’s comment is too funny! Very impressed with Emma’s row of colour-sorted pennies.
I miss pennies – the smallest denomination here in Australia is 5cents. But the paper money is colour-coded, so Emma would have a great time organising it. :)
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What a great way to keep kids occupied… oh, and a great teaching tool, too!
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That looks like a great activity to keep them busy for a while! It’s amazing how pennies can add up!
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What a great idea for learning about color gradation! Great story from your childhood, too.
And LOL @ Mike above.
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For her next activity, Emma wants to organize little pieces of green paper.