It's never too early to start educating kids about money and good financial habits, according to Australia's Financial Literacy Foundation, Office for Women. Teaching elementary school students to identify the value of coins and bills, count different money combinations and make change will help them learn financial literacy. Playing money games is a great way to practice these important skills.

Money Match
Create a money match game using index cards to practice identifying the value of different coins and bills. On one set of cards, write the value of different coins and bills, such as $5 or 25 cents. On the other set of cards, paste or stamp a picture of a matching coin or bill. To play, lay the cards face down in rows. Flip over two cards. If the cards match, the player keeps them. If the cards don't match, the player puts them back. Continue playing until all of the cards have been matched. The player with the greatest number of matches wins.

Coin Stacks
This game will help students practice adding up coin values. Tell children their goal is to create a combination of 10 coins with the highest possible value. Have children choose 10 coins from an assortment of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters then add up the value of their coins and stack the min a column. The child with the most money wins. Discuss with children the strategies they used when selecting the coins.
Guess the Coins
The Mailbox magazine suggests this game to sharpen logical reasoning and money skills. Select two to four coins and conceal them in your hand. Announce the value of the coins to students and have them guess the correct combination of coins using logical reasoning skills. If desired, provide students with a set of coins to help them think through the problem. Once the combination has been guessed, discuss the steps children used to solve the problem.

Money Spin
According to the editors of "Weekly Reader," students need to use money skills in the classroom daily.This simple spinner game provides a quick class or small-group game. To make the money spinner,fold a paper plate or round piece of paper into four equal sections. Write a coin value in each section,such as 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents. Hold a pencil vertically in the center of the spinner,placing the tip through a paper clip. Have each child spin the paper clip and record the money value on which it landed. After 10 rounds, add up the money. The player with the highest total wins.

Making Change
Once students understand different money values, introduce what happens when a person needs to make change. Collect small toys such as race cars, stuffed animals and bouncy balls. Place a priceless than $1 on each toy. Divide the children into two groups. Give each child in the first group a toy and each child in the second group $1. The dollar bill group finds a partner who has a toy. The child with the toy makes change for the dollar bill. After the purchases are complete, switch roles. To make the game harder, increase the item prices and use $5 bills.

Interactive Games
Many websites offer interactive games to help children learn more about money. The United State Mint's website offers H.I.P. Pocket Change, an assortment of games that includes Quarter Explorer and Golden Dollar Puzzle. These interactive activities help students explore money concepts including identifying coins, exploring the history of coins and making change.