About $martPath
$martPath is the brainchild of the Alpaugh Family Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati, the leading national nonprofit in the K-8 financial and economic education space. In addition to the award-winning and free $martPath online learning program (smartpathlearning.com), the Center partnered with WCET-TV, the PBS station in Cincinnati, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Georgia Council on Economic Education to produce a new series of $martPath puppet music videos featuring Megan Piphus, the first Black female puppeteer on Sesame Street, and several puppet characters.
The videos deliver crucial early economic concepts to children, including opportunity cost, wants and needs, scarcity, and more through fun, engaging songs and storylines.
In one video, children travel to a bowling alley with the $martPath puppets to weigh the costs and benefits of starting a bowling team. In another, an adorable pair of rats run rampant through a grocery store, raiding the shelves while their friend, Scarcity Cat, tries to help them understand needs versus wants (with an incredible James Brown-inspired hook in the song). And kids will laugh and learn from a group of pirates who try to tempt Megan to break her budget by splurging on a cruise! The $martPath characters and songs are so catchy and fun, kids may not realize they’re learning, but parents will appreciate that behind the music and puppet scenes are fundamental money concepts developed and delivered by an expert team of teachers.
“The new $martPath puppet video series is going to be a huge hit because the puppets do such a masterful job of explaining important economic concepts in creative and fun ways. We cannot wait to share $martPath with thousands of Georgia teachers and students in the coming months,” said Mike Raymer, Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Economic Education.
“Teaching important concepts through puppetry is a great way to engage kids and build their early economics skills,” said Laura Evans, GPB Director of Education. “GPB is excited to add this wonderful new series to our existing collection of free education resources.”
About GCEE
Each year, the Georgia Council on Economic Education delivers 100+ workshops to thousands of K-12 teachers preparing them to teach economics and personal finance creatively and effectively. Thanks to generous donations, the GCEE can provide that instruction at no financial cost to teachers, schools, or systems.
About $martPath
$martPath (smartpathlearning.com) has won five national curriculum awards and the $martPath puppet video series has won three regional Emmy awards. $martPath is free to use and provides standards-aligned financial and economic education content for students in grades K-8, with tailored resources for students with developmental disabilities, and expert-designed teacher guides for discussions on equity.