At the beginning of April, the spring 12th edition of the Financial ABCs, an original programme of the Bank Millennium Foundation, was launched. At the end of May, the spring edition of the programme came to an end. 234 workshops were carried out in 69 kindergartens, attended by 5381 children. The 12th edition of the programme was held under the patronage of the Ombudsman for Children.

The spring edition of the Financial ABCs programme was carried out throughout Poland, and volunteers visited, among others, kindergartens in: Szczecin, Świnoujście, Tricity, Elbląg, Jelenia Góra, Braniewo, Białogard, Okuniew, Jasieniec, Żyrardów, Górowo Iławeckie, Wałbrzych, Wrocław, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Białogard, Wołomin and Warsaw.

Animators from the Verba Foundation conducted workshops devoted to educating preschoolers on finance.

Our mission is to provide financial education to the youngest. We strive to make children understand where money comes from, how it can be earned, what saving is and why it matters. Our goal is to prepare them for a future in which they will be conscious consumers who make the right purchasing and financial decisions. We also want them to easily find their way in the world of finance and feel safe in the era of new technologies. – Paulina Wołosz-Sitarek, Member of the Management Board of the Bank Millennium Foundation.

In this original programme, we adapt classes to the age of children and implement them according to two scenarios: for a younger and older age group (which ones?). The scenario for younger children aged 3-4 was about the value of money, saving, and where money comes from. While playing, the little ones could learn the secrets of the financial world.  

Older children learned about online security using new banking technologies. The feedback confirmed that the kids were eager to get involved in the games, they were very interested because both the games and the materials prepared encouraged them to be active. During such classes, children can create an awareness of the value of money in a professional and, above all, accessible way through play.

As part of the programme, children learn how to protect their PIN, how to pay by card, BLIK, phone, which is very attractive to children in today's world. We want the workshops to arouse curiosity about the world of finance and that the kids see that it is not only for adults. By playing shop, driving on the highway or using an ATM, children see how to pay safely, quickly and what to pay attention to in order to carry out the transaction safely.

As part of the "Financial ABCs" programme, the Bank Millennium Foundation carried out 3,391 workshops for over 83,300 preschoolers in 1007 kindergartens in Poland from 2016 to the end of the 12th edition.