Quatashia Witherspoon wrote the song “If I Had a Penny” after hearing 50 Cent play on the radio. She was on her way home from work when the 2017 “Best Friend” track came on. The 26-year-old took the beat and added her lyrics.

She found her way to teach her five and 6-year-old students how to differentiate nickels from quarters.

“I created the song to help my students count and identify money. In my class, we have a rewards system where students can earn pretend money to buy things that they like. These include snacks, extra recess, as well as the opportunity to attend field trips,” Witherspoon told Newsweek.

@quatashiaaa

Count by 10s with K5 ❤️ #fyp #counting #kindergarten #teachersoftiktok #makelearningfun #viraltiktok #educational #abcxyz #fyp 👩🏽‍🏫🍎

♬ original sound – Quatashia Witherspoon

“Music is definitely a great learning tool as it helps with memory,” she added. “Sometimes, I’ll ask my students a question in class to anything we have a song for, and their response is the cutest thing ever. I believe repetition is extremely important for young developing brains, and what better way to do that than music?”

Witherspoon has added more catchy, sing-along songs to her repertoire. She also uses music to teach her students about the days of the week, seasons, nouns and phonetics. The kindergarten teacher said she plans to add more and can always count on her students for direct feedback.

“Their responses to my songs are very truthful. They will tell me if it’s a hit or not, and the songs which get them moving are their absolute favorites,” she said. “When I started posting educational content, my goal was to reach out to educators and parents and show them that we can make learning fun.”