Ryan just spent $204.44. He didn’t do it lightly. That’s because he knows just how long it took him to earn that money. His one-day-a-week paper route earns him $11/week. That’s 19 weeks of folding and throwing papers. But he also gets $10/week in allowance. Enough to help him get some of the things he wants, but not everything. (That explains the paper route.) With the allowance, his total time was reduced in half. To a 15-year old, that’s still…
One of the best ways to teach kids anything is to get them actively involved. Take check writing, for instance. Although most of us have turned to online banking as a way to pay bills, there are times when the only way to get money to someone is through a check. This actually happens a lot to parents: soccer sign-ups, picture day, fee for art class supplies, field trips, and on and on. So the next time you find yourself…
I’ve been doing a little work with a group of foster kids ages 17-19. One of my goals has been to get them to see that their daily actions can influence their future. So at one of our last group meetings we talked about goal setting. I had them write down their goals for one-, five-, ten-, and twently-years. That begs the question…what are you doing right now to reach those goals? But this most recent meeting was about their…
I just spent twenty minutes looking for Ryan’s graphing calculator. That’s on top of the 30 minutes Ryan spent looking last night. It is nowhere to be found. And that’s a bummer, because those things are expensive. I have always told the boys that I will buy the first of whatever it is they need for school. Sketch book for art. Saxophone for music. Graphing calculator for math. If they lose it, it’s their responsibility. Harsh? Not at all. I’ve been…
I was in Ryan’s room this morning looking for his graphing calculator (that’s my next blog entry!), when I discovered a piece of paper that, apparently Ryan needs to fill out. It was titled, Whitney High Track and Field Goal Sheet. Very cool. His track coaches are making the athletes think about and write down their goals for the season. The first goal was pre-determined by the coaches: to have fun. Nice. Then, athletes need to write their individual goals and…