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Soccer camps may be overflowing this summer, but a different kind of training is underway at Oak Hill Elementary School in Herndon—one that could shape how Fairfax County students handle their wallets for life.

Money Camp immerses students in Cent City, a miniature economy where they apply for jobs, open bank accounts, launch businesses, and sell their own products by week’s end. The five-day program gives elementary schoolers a compressed taste of financial adulthood.

“Kids’ experience with money is to go to the store and buy whatever trinket or candy they want,” said Jeanette O’Malley, a sixth-grade teacher at Oak Hill who co-founded Money Camp about 15 years ago. “They don’t realize that there’s a whole economy out there with money circulating and serving different purposes.”

From Prototypes to Paychecks

Participants start by interviewing for camp jobs and brainstorming products to sell. They build prototypes, survey classmates on pricing, and plan production before a Friday marketplace where real transactions take place.

But of all the grown-up lessons packed into the week, one hit every camper the hardest: taxes.

“How much taxes take out of your pay,” said 10-year-old Surya Kosaraju, still processing the revelation.

When counselors told him tax rates often climb higher in adulthood, Kosaraju’s verdict was swift: “Shoot, I’m cooked.”

Insurance Adds Another Layer

The curriculum goes beyond wages and withholding. Teacher Cathy Lahr explained that campers can purchase daily insurance policies—and random “accidents” throughout the week test whether the coverage pays off.

“They never know when an accident is going to happen and when they need to show proof of insurance or they owe a lot of money,” Lahr said.

By the time Friday’s marketplace closes, students walk away with more than pocket change—they leave with an early understanding of how money actually moves through the adult world.