(MONEY Magazine) – Heard the latest from Estee Lauder? The cosmetics company, dismayed at all the recent gossip about its spokesmodel Elizabeth Hurley and her breakup with actor Hugh Grant, has cut Hurley's contract short and signed Sally Jessy Raphael instead. No way, you say. Pure fantasy.

Well, of course, you're right. But that was one of several scenarios presented to a group of girls, ages 11 to 14, attending a financial camp run by the Boston-area Girl Scouts and Salomon Smith Barney this past July. As part of a stock market game, the girls were asked to predict what the news would do to Estee Lauder's stock price (most thought it would plummet) and whether they should buy or sell shares (several opted to buy, figuring management would eventually come to its senses and dump Raphael for Britney Spears).

The stock game was just one activity in a two-week program at Camp Cedar Hill in Waltham, Mass. that combined financial lectures and educational field trips with old-fashioned activities like swimming, crafts and toasting marshmallows. Why choose financial camp? "Wall Street looks really, really busy," said Courtney Leavitt, 14. "That's kind of interesting." Madaline Lee, 11, cut right to the chase: "My dad said he isn't going to pay for college. Besides, I want to be filthy, stinking rich."

Every week, it seems, I get information about another website, program or product aimed at teaching kids about money. Some are about as exciting as an economics textbook; others are just commercial vehicles selling products from the get-go, which as a parent bugs me to no end. The Girl Scout camp, the brainchild of Meg Greer--a longtime scout leader and a Salomon v.p.--was neither. The girls told me it worked partly because they weren't distracted by boys in the room. But I also took home several lessons on teaching kids about money that cross gender lines.

Start with goals. Kids think of money in terms of what they want to buy next. Greer suggested they focus on their long-term goals--then she asked them how they could make those goals happen. On their own, the girls realized that their allowances could cover minor purchases. But affording the big stuff--like family vacations, college and homes--would mean saving and investing.

Favor investing over trading. Most stock market games favor a high-speed, day-trading mentality. In Greer's games, trading took a back seat to analysis. The girls spent much time discussing reasons to own a company's stock before they bought or sold.

Let the kids lead. Some teens know a lot more about money than others. This particular group knew more than Greer expected, so she let them ask questions freely. One query--"Is it possible to lose more than you invest?"--led the group into a discussion of margin debt that was well suited to today's investing climate.

All of which is not to say the camp was perfect. A marathon session on bonds, for instance, drew yawns. Yet when the conversation turned to entrepreneurship, stocks and all the different factors that can move the market, the girls were animated--and on target. "I wish Harry Potter was a stock," mused Madaline. "Now that's something I would buy." I know what she means.

Editor-at-large Jean Chatzky appears regularly on NBC's Today. You can contact her by e-mail at moneytalk@moneymail.com.