Save
The jar that grows.
Whatever a kid leaves in here gets a little bigger overnight. That is compound interest, and a six-year-old can watch it happen without anyone saying the words.
Money skills for ages 5 to 14
Big oaks start with small savers.
Kids learn money by handling it, not by hearing about it. At Acorns Academy they earn acorns, split them between Save, Spend and Share, and watch what those choices do over the next ten days. Parents get the words to use at the kitchen table.
The whole idea, in three jars
Every acorn goes somewhere on purpose.
The same three jars run through everything: the games, the books, the worksheets a teacher prints. Blue always means Save. A kid learns it once and never has to relearn it.
Spend
Little treats, right now.
Fun, and allowed. It just doesn't grow. Kids feel the trade-off between this jar and the blue one long before they could explain it.
Share
For somebody else.
Giving on purpose, with money that was really theirs. It counts even though it was never for them. Maybe especially because of that.
One path, three stages
A kid starts as a Sprout and leaves as an Oak.
Each stage reuses the same three jars, so nothing has to be unlearned. The numbers just get bigger and the choices get real.
Sprouts · ages 5–8
Where does money come from?
- Coins, notes and counting
- Earning through jobs
- Want versus need
- Save, Spend, Share
- Waiting for a bigger thing
Saplings · ages 9–12
Making a plan and sticking to it.
- Building a real budget
- Bank accounts and interest
- Comparing prices, spotting ads
- Running a small business
- Giving on purpose
Oaks · ages 13–14
The things nobody teaches you.
- Your first paycheck, and its deductions
- Compound interest, both directions
- Credit, debt and what it costs
- Index funds in plain English
- Scams, hype and pressure
The companion series
Books that finish the conversation.
Each title takes one idea and gives it a story, so a parent can read it at bedtime without preparing a lesson. Ebook first, paperback second. Join the list below and you'll hear the day the first one is out.
The Three Jars
The Long Wait
Pip and the Lemonade Problem
For parents
You do not need a script. But here is one anyway.
Most money lessons happen in about nine seconds, in a shop, when you are already tired. These are the answers worth having ready.
“Are we rich?”
Don't answer with a number. “We have enough for what we need, and we choose carefully about the rest.” Then ask what made them wonder. The real question is usually about a friend's something.
“Can we just use the card?”
The card looks like free money because the cost is invisible. “The card is a promise to pay with money we already earned. Want to see where it comes from?” Then show them once.
“Why can't I have it?”
Swap no for not with this money. “You can have it: from your Spend jar today, or your Save jar in three weeks. Which one?” The choice teaches what the refusal cannot.
“How much do you make?”
Honesty without the figure. “Enough that you don't have to worry about it. I'll tell you the number when you're older.” Then answer the part you can: how you get paid, and how often.
Get the first book
One email when it's ready. Nothing else.
The first Acorns Academy book, The Three Jars, is on its way. Join the list and you'll get it the day it's out, along with the printable jar labels that go with it.
No accounts, no ads, nothing collected from a child. This list is for grown-ups.