Ryan just called me from school. Apparently he left his grade check sheet at home this morning and needs it in order to try out for the track team this afternoon. Hmmm. Not wanting him to miss out on being on the team but wanting him to be responsible for forgetting, I asked if today was the only day for tryouts. No, he could try out tomorrow. That made my life so much easier. He’ll be taking the bus home…
Today was my last day with this particular group of second graders. One of the girls, Lauren, came running up to me as I was setting up the day’s activity. “I got a job!” she announced. But the gleam in her eyes really said it all. Apparently, after last week’s lesson on special talents and skills, she went home and talked to her parents about doing some jobs around the house for extra money. She got hired to take down…
I was working with a group of 4th and 5th graders on Pet Project, a project where kids get to take care of a pet for a year. Part of the project requires kids to go through catalogs and buy things for their pet. They need to fill in a real order form and write a check using some old checks I saved when I closed an account (with all important information blacked out). They love this project because they…
Spending money is easy. Ask any kid. For most, the list of things they want is endless. And spending money is not bad, it’s just important to spend it wisely. That was the idea behind a lesson I did with a group of second graders. But I didn’t tell them that. I thought it would be more fun if I tempted them and let them figure it out. So I printed a whole bunch of stickers for items that kids…
I was in Michael’s yesterday buying key charms for my money management lesson on the keys to compounding. With my 40% off coupon, of course. I was behind a mom who I felt increasingly sympathetic for. But not really because she allowed herself to be in the position she was in. The mom was there with her two daughters. They looked to be about 8- and 9-years old. The older one asked her mom if she could buy one of…