It's summer — but that doesn't mean your child's education has to be on vacation!

Whether you're in the car, on a plane or just chilling at home this summer, there are a lot of fun and engaging ways to help your children learn financial literacy.

One thing we've learned from countless studies is that children who learn about personal finance early in life are more likely to make good financial decisions when they're older.

Unfortunately, not all schools in our area teach our youth about how to budget, save, spend and invest. Some students leave high school without understanding the power of compound interest, for example.

Here at CommonWealth One, education is something we truly value — year round! That's why we offer so many programs to help all of our members learn and grow.

Starting this Friday, July 7, your children can earn money for their CommonWealth One savings account just by reading some books! CommonWealth One's Summer Reading Program returns this summer and it's a great way to get your kids to read and learn about money at the same time. Just go to COFCU.org to sign up for the summer reading challenge and learn more about it.

In addition to getting your child their own savings or checking account at CommonWealth One, here are four more easy ways you can support your children's financial education at home:

1. Give kids an allowance. If your kids do chores — or any extra jobs around the house — pay them for it. You can pay them for doing individual chores, or give them a standard weekly or monthly amount for a set of chores. Either way, they can learn about earning money, the value of hard work, saving up for what they want and more. You can even connect your CommonWealth One checking account to an allowance app like Greenlight.

2. Math on the run! While you're shopping at the grocery store for your upcoming BBQ, have your children help you find the best deals and lowest prices, calculate discounts and estimate the total bill. Kids can also do math at the gas station by estimating how much gas you'll need to fill the tank and what it will cost. In fact, they can get a math lesson at any store you visit this summer!

3. Keep the conversation going. When you're in the car or at the breakfast table, talk about money! You don't have to tell your kids how much you make, but you can talk to them about how bills work, how credit cards work, what it means to borrow money and other basics. What do they want to save up for? How long do they think it will take to do that?

4. Sign up for Banzai! CommonWealth One offers members FREE access to Banzai, an interactive, award-winning series of online lessons about money. Your child can learn at their own pace about the topics that are most interesting to them. Join them for these lessons (many are aimed at adults, too!) and you can learn together! Start at cofcu.banzai.org/wellness.

From when our youngest members receive their first birthday card with money inside to when our adult members retire and beyond, CommonWealth One is focused on helping our members make smart financial decisions. We're looking forward to a fun holiday week — and we're excited to help you raise money-smart kids.