Sixth Graders Buy Stock! Well, sort of......

Yes, our 6th graders bought stock last week. I was very generous and gave them $50,000.00 to invest in stocks and mutual funds or put in the bank. Most wanted to invest their money in the stock market despite my reminder that there is risk when you put money in stocks. Maybe it was my story of how I paid for 3 of my 4 years of college using money I made in the stock market after getting started in the stock market when I was in 6th grade. I have always been fascinated by stocks and my family even says I should still be a financial advisor or a stock broker, but trust me, I have made some mistakes as well. If you don't remember WorldCom, AtHome, or a few other stocks that I invested in, that is because they went bankrupt and I lost my whole investment in their companies. I suppose that made up for the times I tripled and quadrupled my high school savings by investing in a few different companies. Bottom line is that stocks have risks, but over time, you can expect to earn about 8% a year if you invest in a stock. That means, using the Rule of 72, you would double your money every 9 years. After showing students this rule and how $1000 could become almost a quarter of a million dollars by the time they were 100, students were pretty excited to invest in stocks. Now, the tough part: Waiting until the end of May to see who earned the most. We will see....

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the stock market, here is a video from Common Craft. I LOVE COMMON CRAFT VIDEOS!!! They make the most complex things so simple by breaking it down in just 2-5 minutes. Most are technology related or money related, but they are adding more all the time. If you want to learn about more than just stocks, go to there site and see what they have to offer. In the meantime, please get your kids and click on this link. Trust me, you are never too young to invest in stocks. I started when I was in elementary and it made a huge difference in my life. I am hoping my students might have the same opportunity I did.

Watch video here!