On September 2018, I went to Manila, Philippines for a day to attend a workshop on “Pitaka Ko”, a game-based learning activity for kids that aim to teach financial literacy. Financial Literacy as we all know is a very important life skill in order for humans to survive and live comfortably. That is why, this should actually be taught as early as any kid can. However, this concept/skill is rarely taught/integrated in schools. There  have been attempts to teach this concept in the past but there are still those who continue to innovate to make it more interesting, fun to learn, and meaningful for kids. 

When I was in Manila for the pilot workshop, the teachers were also given the chance to give suggestions/feedback and co-design both the product and the process of Pitaka Ko. Based on my personal experience as a public school teacher, I gave inputs on how the product can be used and what the process should be for a classroom with a large number of students.

After a few months of revising the product, I was blessed that they chose me and my class to do a testing with actual students. The testing was really important because it will show whether it will work for the students or not. After coordinating with Ms Roxy Navarro, one of the creators, the testing finally happened last Tuesday, March 26. Together with Ms Ena, they flew to Cagayan de Oro to conduct the process. Since I am the teacher, I had to do the workshop while they observe and help facilitate the groups. I truly enjoyed it! 

There are so many things that I learned from this experience. For one, children at an early can already be taught concepts on financial literacy. Pitaka Ko teaches goal setting, budgeting, and saving which are all basic concepts to live sustainably. It also teaches them to make decisions and to let them learn that decisions made  always have consequences. Once these are inculcated in their minds and hearts at an early age, they can be more financially-wise and secured when they grow old.

On the other hand, the process also allow them to show their creativity as they get to create and  design their wallets and the materials provided for the activities. Also, the materials are also very nice that I can already think of many ways on how I can use them to teach other lessons in class.

Lastly and most important of all, the children enjoyed the process. After all, we should be making learning fun, right?

After this phase, the team will now be creating the final version of the product and once they’re done, they will be distributing it to different public schools in the country. That is so exciting!

However, they already left the prototype which was used in the testing, so if you’re a teacher and you would like to run this workshop among your students, feel free to comment below or leave a message on my Facebook page and I will definitely help you out.  #parasabayan #parasabata #parasaedukasyon

Happy Teaching!

Photo credits: Ms Roxy Navarro