Teaching Tips for Lesson 1: Get in the Habit

This is the first of seventeen blogs providing practical teaching tips inspired by the lyrics and concepts from the Sammy Rabbit song Get in the Habit!

In the companion blog, How the Sammy Rabbit Song Get in the Habit Teaches Kids 17 Money Lessons — Plus Powerful Vocabulary, we explored how the song supports financial education in three powerful ways:

Through clear, repeatable phrases directly from the song
Through real-world money lessons that naturally emerge when kids discuss and apply those phrases or concepts
Through everyday money language that builds financial vocabulary.

Now, we’re expanding on that foundation with a series of blogs that offer teaching tips for each of the 17 individual lessons embedded in the song. Each blog will include: (1) Simple questions to ignite discussion and learning (2) Two easy-to-implement micro-activities (3) A challenge action step (4) Key words to build personal finance and life-skills vocabulary.

Let’s begin with Lesson 1, built on the phrase “Get in the Habit.” For context, the full lyric from the song is:

Get in the habit, like Sammy Rabbit, saving money all the time.

This full phrase has been intentionally organized into three separate lessons, making it easy to teach one concept at a time or combine them as a sequence.

You can click on the following links to find: song lyrics and a karaoke Video.

Lesson 1: Use the Phrase “Get in the Habit”

Summary

Lesson: Discuss habits and getting started. Habits are powerful because they shape behavior and create predictable outcomes over time. Whether positive or negative, habits work the same way. By teaching children to intentionally start positive money habits early—such as saving consistently—parents and teachers help establish routines that support long-term financial well-being.

Share with kids:
Habits are things we do again and again. When you practice good money habits, like saving, they help you reach your goals over time.

1. Simple Discussion Questions

Use one or two—short, easy, and great for home or classroom conversations.

What is one habit you already do every day?
Why do you think some habits help us and some habits don’t?
What is one money habit you would like to start?
How could a saving habit help your future self?
What does the phrase “Get in the Habit” mean to you?

2. Two Micro-Activities (2–5 Minutes Each)

Micro-Activity 1: Habit Match

Materials: None

Ask children to name:

One good habit (brushing teeth, reading, saving money)
One not-so-good habit (leaving toys out, forgetting homework, spending all their money)

Have them sort habits into two categories using their hands, pointing left or right:

“Helps Me”
“Doesn’t Help Me”

Purpose: Reinforces the idea that habits drive outcomes.

Micro-Activity 2: Start a Saving Habit Jar

Materials: Any jar, cup, or envelope

Invite children to place one coin or one small item (even a paper “coin”) into a jar and label it:
“My New Habit: Saving!”

Ask them:

“How did it feel to save today?”
“What will happen if you keep doing this?”

Purpose: Shows that a habit begins with a single, simple action.

3. Challenge Action Step

This week, encourage kids to save something—anything—at least three times.
A penny, a nickel, a dime, or pretend money all count.

Each time they save, have them say:

“I’m getting in the habit!”

This builds repetition, ownership, and joy around habit formation.

4. Key Vocabulary Words

These simple words help build a foundation for understanding routines and daily practices—essential concepts for early financial literacy.

Get: To start or begin doing something

Habit: A routine or pattern of actions or behavior we repeat again and again | Something you do over and over again. | Something you practice again and again until it becomes part of you.

So when the song says “get in the habit,” it means to start a routine and keep doing it again and again.

Check Out Money Lesson 2

This blog is part of a 17-lesson series using the Sammy Rabbit song Get in the Habit to make it fun, easy, and effective for anyone to talk with and teach young kids about great money habits.

When ready, check out Teaching Tips for Lesson 2 from the song Get in the Habit: Be Like Sammy Rabbit! It focuses on the importance of choosing good role models who practice smart money habits.

Additional Songs and Fun Resources

Keep:

kids listening, learning, singing and growing with a FREE or PREMIUM Money School Memberships.
parents, teachers, and community leaders learning and growing their financial literacy teaching skills by reading Sam X Renick's series of articles: Money Lessons Parents Should Teach Kids!
delivering financial education at home, in school, and other venues with Sammy's Dream Big Financial Education curriculum!

Contact Sammy Today!

We welcome your questions, suggestions, and ideas! Let’s connect, brainstorm, and partner to keep helping kids, families, and communities build strong financial literacy knowledge, habits, and skills—so together, we can create better and brighter futures for all.