Planet Orange – Where Kids Have a World of Fun Learning About Money
3/11/2010
By Jordan LaPier
You talk to your kids about cleaning up their rooms. You talk to your kids about doing their homework and completing assignments on time. You even talk to your kids about the “birds and the bees.” But engaging your children in a conversation about money and finances often evokes anxiety – and too frequently never happens.
ING DIRECT is helping parents and teachers across the country have the “money-talk” with kids by turning them into astronauts and sending them on an online space adventure to a new planet!
Planet Orange
, a newly designed, virtual space-themed program, makes learning about money both entertaining and educational. While on Planet Orange, children can rocket through space to four quirky continents -- Mandarin Mountains, Tangy Town, Navel City and Orangeopolis, to learn the fundamentals of earning, saving, spending and investing.
Through the able assistance of planetary guides Cedric and Amy, the adventures begin on Mandarin Mountains, the continent that teaches the value and necessity of money. Tangy Town is the second stop, where children learn about budgeting, banking and paychecks. The adventure continues to Navel City where children encounter credit, interest and inflation. The last stop, Orangeopolis, introduces investing, stocks, diversification and risk. The complexity of the adventure increases with each continent and after each continent mission is completed; the children are given a brief quiz of lessons learned. Printable badges are the reward for answering all the questions correctly.
On breaks between missions, Planet Orange travelers can hang out at their space station which serves as their home base and spend “Obux” – that’s Planet Orange outer space money! When not saving their Obux, space travelers can spend them on arcade games, decorations for their Space Station, or costumes to adorn their very own astronaut avatar character. But each item comes with a price and children can only purchase if they have budgeted accordingly.
When Obux do run low, there are plenty of ways to earn more. Kids can click on the “job board” in the drop down menu and choose from three different occupations to perform. In addition, Obux must also be earned in order to re-fuel and continue travels on Planet Orange.
Kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from Planet Orange. The site comes fully equipped with a Teacher’s Resource Center that includes teacher tutorials, free grade specific lesson plans and supplemental information to enhance the learning experience. In a recent survey conducted by ING DIRECT, nine out of ten parents and teachers who visited the site said they “felt confident in using the adventures to teach children about money and would highly recommend it be used at home and in the classroom.”
Planet Orange emerges at a time when many parents and teachers are searching for tools to help them start the finance conversation with their children or students. The virtual online adventure holds key lessons for kids to become financial savvy.
To begin your child’s journey, blast-off today at
www.orangekids.com
.