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Claudia Buck - Sacramento Bee August 21, 2011

As summer winds down and another school year revs up, maybe you're looking for some new ways to entertain – and enlighten – your kids and teens.

How about some fun money lessons? Given Wall Street's zany zigzagging and the relentless drumbeat of stories about debt and more debt, we've all been a little preoccupied with the ups and downs of finances lately.

"It is not a topic that many parents like to talk about ... Some think money is only an adult topic. Or the schools should teach it. But that just doesn't happen," said Karyn Hodgens, a Rocklin-based kids-and-money instructor and co-founder of KidNexions, a financial education company.

Teaching kids to manage money "is like teaching your kid to ride a bike," said the former elementary school math teacher. "It takes practice. It takes making mistakes."

In recent weeks, a number of entrepreneurs, nonprofits and financial companies have launched some new money-management tools for kids, from tots to teens.

Here's a look at some:

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