Emma Worth's
MONEY MYSTERIES ©
A financial literacy program for Kids
Meet Emma Worth, an 8-year-old detective with a specialty in solving "money mysteries". Emma has big plans for her future but only a small amount of money, so when her teacher tells him money doesn't grow on trees, nor in a piggy bank, Emma sets off to find out where money does grow—hence, "money mystery #1. After advising Emma to "Save now, I'll show you how!", Moolah - her financially wise Mackatoo - leads her to the one place where money does grow: the bank. After figuring out a way to earn some money to get started, Emma opens her first bank account and learns how to manage it by herself.
Like Dora the Explorer, who has taught a generation of preschoolers some basic Spanish, and the Sesame Street characters who have taught generations of children early concepts and life skills, Emma Worth will help generations of children learn the basics of finance, which has become a necessity in today's world. The money mysteries Emma uncovers in the books will give readers a better understanding of how money works in their own world.
Today's financial crisis has heightened awareness of financial matters. The President's Council on Financial Literacy was established with a national goal of creating a financially literate society. President Obama has recognized our society's shortcomings in the context of the current financial crisis and in the broader issue of how to instill the lifelong habits that lead to long-term wealth creation. This is necessary to prepare our children for financing their own retirement.
The current literature, teaching aids and school curriculum appear to be variations of the same old theme of teaching kids solely through age-old piggy bank savings and numeration techniques. Depending on their age, children are taught addition and subtraction with pennies, dimes, and quarters. Multiplication and division are used for interest and dividend calculations. This was our parents' world of finance, not ours.
Our unique educational approach provides a more fundamental foundation for a financial education in our modern age. This is accomplished through understanding the relationship of work and money, money and ATM machines, money and investments, credit cards and tangible product acquisition, bill payment mechanisms, monthly statements, retirement and social security, taxes, deficits, et al. In short, this "Money Mystery" book series takes complex, financial subjects and simplifies them into basic concepts that a child can understand and begin to observe in his/her own life.
Further Developments
We see the "Money Mysteries" as being only a part of a bigger campaign to teach children financial literacy. The initial stage of the program will involve the production and distribution of the children's book series. We anticipate engaging the financial industry in extending the educational program to serve the financial product and service needs of the children and their parents.
- Uniquely-branded interactive online services
- Counting books for preschoolers
- Animated TV series
- Creating and distributing value, debit and/or credit cards for children
- Blog
- Readings at bookstores and in libraries
- Offer the books as giveaways by financial institutions
- Engage schools and school librarians
- Produce CD's and DVD's
- Use our characters for public interest messaging and in children's programming
- Offering regular and tax advantaged college savings products
- Offering general savings and investment products
- Offering in-branch and in-school ATM and coin counting machines