Tuttle Twins Business Basics, Grade 3
A full-year course that teaches money by having your kid run a business. It’s brand new, so here’s exactly what’s in it, what it costs, and who we think it suits.
We haven’t run this one with our own kids — it only just launched. Everything below comes from the publisher’s own course materials, not from using it. When we’ve taught a full year of it, we’ll come back and say what actually happened.
A Year of Running a Business, Not Reading About One
Business Basics is a full Grade 3 course — six units, six lessons each, thirty-six lessons in all. The structure is the same every time: a story, then something to do, then a conversation to have. That last part is the bit most curricula leave out, and it’s usually where the idea actually sticks.
The through-line is a business. Your child starts a lemonade stand with Ethan and Emily and runs it across the year: counting real coins, setting up SAVE, SPEND and SHARE jars, working out why the line got longer and the price went up on a hot day, setting goals, making a plan, dealing with a customer whose order went wrong, and finishing with a fundraiser for a cause they chose themselves.
That last detail is the one we’d point at. Ending on a fundraiser rather than a profit target says something about what the course is actually trying to build — and it’s a more interesting ending than “and then you made money.”
A sample page from the course — worth a look before you commit to a year of it.
The Skills Behind the Activities
Each activity is doing a job. Here’s what each one is teaching.
What It Costs
Three options at pre-order pricing: $39 digital only, $49 print only, or $59 for both. For a full year of material that’s inexpensive compared with most boxed curricula, which tend to start in the low hundreds.
Which format depends on how you work. Print suits a kitchen table and a child who’d rather not be on a screen for school. Digital suits reprinting the activity pages when a second kid comes through, or when the first attempt gets covered in lemonade. The bundle is only ten dollars over print, which is the cheapest way to keep both doors open.
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Worth It, and When It Isn’t
It fits well if you have a child around eight or nine, you want financial literacy covered properly rather than as a worksheet unit, and you can spare a short slot most days. The publisher says it’s built for a homeschool rhythm but works in a co-op or a classroom, and the lesson length suits an after-school or weekend slot too.
It probably isn’t for you if your child is much outside Grade 3 — this is pitched fairly precisely, and a twelve-year-old is likely to find the lemonade stand beneath them. If you want the ideas without the year-long commitment, the storybooks cover a lot of the same ground with far less structure.
One honest caveat: it’s new. There’s no body of parent feedback yet, no reviews from families who’ve finished a year of it, and nobody — us included — can tell you how it holds up in month seven. Pre-ordering something unproven is a real trade-off, and it’s worth naming rather than glossing over.
Questions Parents Are Asking
What is Tuttle Twins Business Basics?
A full-year Grade 3 course that teaches money by having a child run a business alongside Ethan and Emily. Six units of six lessons each. Every lesson pairs a story with an activity and then a conversation.
What age is Business Basics for?
It’s built as a Grade 3 course, so roughly ages eight to nine. The reading level and activity complexity are pitched there, though families often run it a little wide in either direction depending on the child.
How much does Business Basics cost?
At pre-order pricing: $39 for digital only, $49 for print only, and $59 for the print and digital bundle.
Does it work outside homeschooling?
The publisher says it’s built to fit a homeschool rhythm but also works in a co-op or a traditional classroom. The lessons are short enough to run as an after-school or weekend supplement.
Do you need the storybooks first?
No. It’s standalone. Children who already know Ethan and Emily will recognise them, but the course doesn’t assume any prior reading.
Not Ready for a Full Year?
The storybooks cover a lot of the same ground with far less structure — and they’re the easier place to find out whether this lands with your kid.