We'd like to take a few moments to explain what KidsBank.com™ is and why it was developed. We'll also offer some suggestions for making the most of your visits to KidsBank.com™. KidsBank.com™ is a tutorial website brought to you by Sovereign Bank that explains the fundamentals of money and banking to children. In our travels throughout the World Wide Web, we discovered a lack of quality information about this very important topic. KidsBank.com™ was developed to provide parents with an informative and fun place to bring their children for answers to money-related questions. Good savings habits begin at an early age. By explaining the importance and procedures of savings and banking, KidsBank.com™ will de-mystify the process of banking for children and give them the confidence they need to spend and save their money wisely. As a parent you will feel more confident in your child's knowledge of banking and their ability to handle their own money. Concepts have been described in language that will appeal to younger children. Older children will enjoy the historical facts and more detailed explanations also provided. Enjoy Your Visit to KidsBank.com™ from Sovereign Bank KidsBank.com Children's Privacy Policy Click for a brief description of each area of KidsBank.com™ The Story Calculators The Game Room Links SPEED YOUR JOURNEY!! Waiting for pages and images to download will try the patience of young and old! Speed your journey through KidsBank.com™ by pre-downloading all the images found in the site! This will take a few minutes, but when you're ready to surf, the pages will load instantly! We estimate the following download times: at 14.4 Kbps: 30 - 35 minutes at 28.8 Kbps: 15 - 18 minutes at 33.6 Kbps: 12 - 14 minutes at 56.0 Kbps: 8 - 12 minutes Pre-Download Images The KidsBank.com™ story begins on the homepage. Children join the KidsBank.com™ characters on a tour of Money, Savings, Interest, Checking, and Electronic Banking. The story is divided into five chapters, each hosted by a different KidsBank.com™ character. We suggest you begin your journey with Penny, following through to Dollar Bill, then Interest Ray, Checks, and lastly Mr. EFT. Each chapter ends with an introduction to the next character, so you need not return home to access the next area of the story. Each chapter can also be read independently of the others, allowing you greater flexibility in accessing information about one particular topic. The story is written for smaller children to ensure a general understanding of the topics. Throughout the story, you will also see this click-able icon, known as "The Professor." The Professor provides more detailed information about the topic discussed in the panel. While this information may be too in-depth for smaller children, it will provide older children with a clearer understanding of the subject. For example, interest is discussed in simple terms in the story, but the Professor explains the difference between simple and compound interest. Test your knowledge of money and banking! The game room offers 10 multiple choice quizzes based on information learned in the story. The Story Quizzes are comprised of questions based solely on the story panels. The Professor Quizzes are more in-depth, based on both the story and information found in the Professor's pages. This section of KidsBank.com™ houses 2 interactive calculators that demonstrate principles of saving and interest. Children may enter, select or change certain variables that effect the final calculation. By changing variables and recalculating, children will learn how time, contributions, and interest rates impact their savings. The Holiday Savings Calculator totals how much money a child can save by a specific date, based on principal and weekly savings. The Car Calculator shows a child how much he can save over a certain number of years, based on principal, interest, and weekly savings. KidsBank.com Children's Privacy Policy The Links page lists other Internet Sites of interest to children and parents. They have been carefully selected for appropriateness. You will find links to science pages, children's books on-line, gross and icky things (they do seem to fascinate children, don't they?), teaching pages, other money resources, and pages that explore diverse sections of the globe. If you feel that a site we have listed is inappropriate, or if there is a site you feel should be included on our list, please forward your comments to answers@kidsbank.com.