Making change is the skill that separates playing with money from understanding it. Any child can hand over coins — but working out that if something costs £3.40 and the customer paid £5, they need £1.60 back? That requires real mathematical thinking.
The challenge is that making change combines several skills at once: knowing the total, counting the payment, calculating the difference, and then selecting the right coins. It’s no wonder many children (and adults) find it tricky.
myplayshop makes practising this skill feel like play, not homework.
Why Making Change Is an Essential Skill
In an increasingly cashless world, you might wonder whether making change still matters. It absolutely does — and not just for handling money:
- Mental subtraction — Change-making is subtraction in its most practical form
- Number bonds — Understanding that 60p + 40p = £1 is a number bond in action
- Estimation — “About how much change should I get?” builds number sense
- Problem-solving — Finding the right combination of coins exercises logical thinking
- Real-world confidence — Children who understand change aren’t intimidated by real transactions
How Change-Making Works in myplayshop
The flow is simple and repeatable:
- Your child scans the customer’s items and sees the total
- The customer pays — sometimes with exact change, sometimes not
- When the payment exceeds the total, the game prompts your child to give change
- Your child selects coins and notes from the till to make up the difference
- The game checks whether the change is correct
- Correct change earns stars and a satisfied customer
Each transaction is a fresh change-making problem with different amounts, different payments, and different coin combinations needed.
Building Up Gradually
Making change doesn’t have to start hard. Here’s a natural progression:
Stage 1: Simple Round Numbers
The customer buys something for 50p and pays with £1. Change: 50p — one coin.
Stage 2: Round Change From Larger Notes
A £2.00 purchase paid with £5. Change: £3.00 — could be a £2 coin and a £1 coin.
Stage 3: Mixed Change
A £3.40 purchase paid with £5. Change: £1.60 — now your child needs to combine different coins.
Stage 4: Complex Transactions
Multiple items totalling £7.85, paid with a £10 note. Change: £2.15 — this requires confident coin selection.
myplayshop naturally presents these levels as your child progresses.
The Counting-Up Approach
Many teachers recommend counting up from the price rather than subtracting. In myplayshop, this looks natural:
Example: Total is £3.40, customer pays £5.
Your child might think:
- £3.40 → add 10p → £3.50
- £3.50 → add 50p → £4.00
- £4.00 → add £1 → £5.00
So they select: 10p + 50p + £1 = £1.60 change.
The game accepts any correct combination, so children can use whatever method works for them.
Making It Stick
- Play regularly — Short daily sessions beat one long weekly session. Five minutes of shopkeeper play after school builds fluency
- Celebrate the process — “You counted up really well!” matters more than “You got it right”
- Connect to real shopping — “We paid £10 for those groceries that cost £7.30 — what change should we get?”
- Pair with hands-on practice — Use real coins at home to practise the same scenarios from the game