Knowing your money is one of the most useful things a child can learn. Year 1 explorers meet Malaysian money — the ringgit (RM) and sen — learning to recognise the 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen coins and the colourful ringgit notes, decide which is worth more, and count small amounts of sen.
What your child will learn
- Recognise the 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen coins
- Recognise RM1, RM5, RM10 and RM20 notes and their colours
- Know that 100 sen make RM1
- Decide which coin or note is worth more
- Count a handful of sen coins up to RM1
Coins and notes
Malaysia’s coins are 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen. The bigger the coin, the more it is worth. The notes each have their own colour: RM1 is blue, RM5 is green, RM10 is red, RM20 is orange, RM50 is blue-green and RM100 is purple.
Sen or ringgit?
The most common mix-up is between sen and ringgit: a 50 sen coin and an RM50 note both say 50, but the note is worth a hundred times as much. Looking for the word SEN or RINGGIT — or the letters RM — tells you which.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. What colour is the RM1 note?
- Orange
- Blue
- Red
- Purple
Show answer
Answer: Blue. The RM1 note is blue.
2. How much is this coin worth?
- 5 sen
- 10 sen
- RM20
- 20 sen
Show answer
Answer: 20 sen. This coin says 20 SEN, so it is worth 20 sen. 100 sen make RM1.
3. How much is this coin worth?
- 10 sen
- 5 sen
- RM10
- 50 sen
Show answer
Answer: 10 sen. This coin says 10 SEN, so it is worth 10 sen. 100 sen make RM1.
Tips for grown-ups
- Empty your purse onto the table and sort the coins together, biggest to smallest.
- Let your child hand over the money for something small at the kedai or pasar.
- Count coins by starting with the biggest one, then counting on.