Help your students explore financial literacy, money math, and real-world problem solving with this engaging café-themed project-based learning activity!

In this resource, students will design and run their own café, making decisions about budgeting, pricing, earning money, and paying bills, all while practising essential maths skills in a fun, creative way.

This activity is ideal for Grades 3–4 / Year 3–4, and can be used as:

• a financial literacy unit

• a maths project

• an end-of-term activity

• a small-group or whole-class task

What’s Included:

• Café building and design planning pages

• Furniture and upgrade budgeting activities

• Menu creation pages (students choose their own prices)

• A sample menu for extra support or modelling

• Calculating money earned from customers

• Paying weekly and monthly café bills

• Saving and budgeting for future upgrades

• Reflection questions to explain financial choices

• Optional extension activities, including:
  

  • Order-taking and calculating totals

  • Coin-based money problems (what can a customer afford? how much change?)

• Assessment rubric

• Answer key for questions with fixed values

Skills Covered:

• Financial literacy

• Addition and subtraction with money

• Budgeting and saving

• Problem solving

• Reasoning and explaining thinking

• Real-world maths application

Important Notes for Teachers:

• This resource uses generic coins and currency so it can be used in Australia, the USA, and other regions.

• Prices and menus are student-created, meaning many questions are open-ended by design.

• An answer key is included for questions with fixed answers, while creative and menu-based responses will vary between students.

• Optional activities are clearly labelled and can be included or skipped as needed.

Teacher-Friendly & Flexible

No prep required, simply print and go, or select individual pages to suit your class. This project encourages creativity while still maintaining strong mathematical focus and structure.