Challis Thasall is the mother of four children and a second generation homeschooler. Both her sons have graduated and her two daughters are just beginning. Challis assists her husband in his business and is the creator/moderator of HS-Plus, an online support group for homeschoolers of special needs children. Her simple and frugal lifestyle is reflected in her homeschooling, as is her belief that even the smallest things have the potential to become great learning experiences.
Name of Product: KidsBank
Link to Product/website: http://www.kidsbank.com/index_3.asp
Description of Product: “C’mon in and learn all about banking at KidsBank.com™! Have some fun in this learning website. We hope to help you and your children explore some of the fundamentals of banking. We explain some of the basics of banking services and hope that your children can use KidsBank.com™ to learn a little more about how savings, interest, checking and other banking things work.”

Challis’ Description of Product: KidsBank.com uses a story format in teaching a variety of banking concepts to both younger and older children. The five characters, Penny, Dollar Bill, Interest Ray, Checks (the KidsBank.com puppy) and Mr. EFT, each have chapters where they explain important parts of the story. At specific points along the way, Mr. Professor, a clickable icon, is available to provide more detailed information. A fun way for the child to review what he or she has learned is by taking the multiple choice quizzes at the end of each chapter. All of the quizzes are quickly found in the Game Room as well. There are two calculators on the Calculators page, where a child is able to enter a goal date and how much he or she plans to save each week, and then see what the total will be when sticking to that plan. One of the calculators is principal-based and the other uses both principal and interest, which helps with planning goals.
Everything at KidsBank.com is FREE and no account or registration is needed. You are offered a choice between Java and Non-Java versions, though there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the two. When getting started, parents are given the option of pre-downloading any graphics for quicker viewing, though there isn’t an actual download (this simply allows faster navigation for the children). The information on where money is made, and the denominations, is U.S. focused; however, the history provided in that section could be of use to everyone.
Homeschool Uses: Covering an array of subjects, including history, economics, math, reading, geography and life skills, this site would be a fun learning tool on its own or added to other studies. While early readers would need more assistance, or need the pages read to them, a stronger reader (even a moderate reader with help in some areas) would do well on his or her own. The calculators offer a hands-on learning tool and allows the user to experiment with different goals, dates and amounts saved each week. Navigation of the site is easy and each chapter is presented in a way that does not overwhelm the user–no long pages to read, no small font to squint over. The story manages to please both the detail-oriented child and the child who’s strengths are in simplicity and ease of information gathering. Being able to select specific chapters, as well as the ability to return to the story another time, would be of benefit to a child who struggles with concentration or is easily distracted or bored.
Content and Safety: At the “KidsBank.com Children’s Privacy Policy,” they explain their strict compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and I didn’t find anything to suggest otherwise. They do ask for a first name when entering the Game Room, though do not require a real name (or any name at all). The “Game Room” isn’t a chat-like forum and is merely a list of interactive quizzes that only you can see and, at the end, addresses the quiz-taker by the name provided. The site doesn’t use cookies or other tracking technologies. I didn’t find any questionable content on the site, but some of the off-site links on the Links page might warrant parental discretion based on personal preference. It may also be worth noting that KidsBank.com was created by Sovereign Bank, and their site is linked to and mentioned on KidsBank.com.
Challis’ Experience Using the Product: In a simple, straightforward manner, KidsBank.com explains everything from money taking the place of bartering, to ATMs and online banking. Savings and checking accounts, interest paid and earned, how each works and why they’re used, are all among the lessons learned. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the story captured our interest and made learning about banking fun. My young children weren’t bogged down by the details and the adults weren’t bored with the simplicity.
My 5-year-old enjoyed listening to Penny’s part of the story and chose Checks, the puppy, as her favorite character. She had fun picking answers to the quizzes, was tickled when she got a few correct, and giggled with her older sister over some of the silly options given. My 9-year-old enjoyed the site most. She was able to read it on her own, with a bit of help here and there, and showed a lot of interest in the story. The quizzes were her favorite part, and she was excited to hear there were ten quizzes in all. Being a saver and a planner of goals, she enjoyed the calculators as much as I expected her to. Both of my sons were here as well, and I got a kick out of the two of them listening in, even giving a few answers to the quizzes. My 18-year-old later described the site as “interesting” and “cool.” Considering his struggles with concentration and staying focused, I was impressed the story kept his attention as well as it did. My 22-year-old enjoyed the trivia throughout the story, just as I thought he might.

Tutorial or Promotional Video of the Product: There isn’t a tutorial video, though one of the first things KidsBank.com does is invite parents to visit the Introduction and Download Pages, where you’re able to view an explanation and outline of the site.
Summary: No matter the age, KidsBank.com makes it fun to learn about banking. The quizzes and calculators are great, interactive tools that help in the learning process as well as putting new knowledge to work. My daughters enjoyed the site very much, and even I learned a few things!
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