The Morning Journal (



Monday, December 31, 2012

Students at First Baptist Christian School learned the importance of money management as the four teams of Joyce Kincaid's fifth-grade students rounded a fictional dog park full of financial pitfalls and fiscal rewards.
The students were playing Financial Education Teaches Children Healthy Habits -- or "FETCH!" -- a game developed by the Ohio Society of CPAs and the Ohio CPA foundation in 2010.
The game places teams of students in charge of a dog that they must navigate through a "dog park" board. Each space can provide money or throw a curve ball in to the team's bank account.
"They take their pet for a walk in the park, and they learn some surprises along the way," said Ruth Liptok, finance and benefits administrator.
"To keep track of the money to find out how much is coming in and coming out," he said excitedly.
The students provided ideas for what kind of financial cost might arise unexpectedly from owning a pet, from torn up shoes to dirty floors to a neighbor's cat getting eaten. As they progressed along the board, some of those problems cropped up.
When a team landed on the "chase away a skunk" spot, they earned $25 for the act, but they had to pay $15 for shampoo for their pooch.
The children would keep a tally in their "savings account register," which would be audited by Kris Wilcox, treasurer of the church and a CPA.
Discrepancies costs the team money. The team with the most money and assets at the end -- as students were required to buy essentials for their dog such as a bone, food, water, a leash and a dog collars -- wins.
"If you don't have a collar and a leash, and you get caught by the dog catcher, you're going to get fined," Liptok warned the children before the game.
Students could also land on a "woof card" -- which grant benefits -- or expense cards, such as a trip to the veterinarian.
"In addition, 39 percent carry credit card debt from month to month, and two in five adults indicated they are saving less than they were one year ago," the organization stated.
Likewise, when one team's dog learned to fetch a stick, that team cheered when they received $20.
"Now is when you start teaching them to be fiscally responsible," Kincaid said. "It is applying their math skills that we use all the time with their LIFE skills."