Birthday Budgets with Math of Money

Who knew a birthday party could be so expensive? After engaging in a mini-competition about goods and services, students in our Math of Money class learned about budgeting through a task that was anything but boring: planning their own birthday parties!

Each camper was given a set budget and asked to plan the coolest party they could for their friends and family. Many students opted to serve their guests pizza and hang up banners, but some got more creative by adding video games, “Hello Kitty”-themed decorations, and extensive guest lists filled with their family and classmates. Some even designed their own cakes!

The very act of planning raised all sorts of math related questions: how many slices of pizza are in a pie? How much does a single brownie cost? How extravagant can party favors be if you only have $5 for each? All of this number-crunching gave students a new understanding of the work that goes into throwing a birthday bash, all the while giving them a chance to express themselves.

One camper added our assistant site director, Nick, to his guest list alongside the friends he met at camp. Let’s hope he had enough money in the budget for a lot of extra pizza — maybe Nick could bring some back to the office!