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A few simple ways to teach your toddlers & preschoolers about financial responsibility

22 Feb

I wrote this post over a year ago for another blog. I am so happy to share my thoughts on Carrots Are Orange!

My son is only 17 months old but he gets that dad leaves for work every morning and that he comes home to us every evening. We walk him to the door, give a hug and a kiss and say goodbye. For some time he would simply say, “Dad-dee?” several times throughout the day to which I would reply, “Daddy is at work, sweetie. Remember that we said good bye to him this morning.” Then he’d say sweetly, “Dad-dee, home.” Yes, of course we’d both like for Daddy to come home.

Well, this week I noticed that his understanding of where Dad-dee is going is beginning to change. He attempts to say, “Dad-dee work. Car. Bye bye,” or something akin to that order. So I decided what the heck, I’ll take the time and the opportunity to explain the concept of work, why Dad-dee leaves for work every day, and why work is important. As I explained the concept of work to him, he listened intently. I could tell he was paying attention. So I jumped on it.

True, at 17 months old, he may not “get it” truly but I believe 100% that some of what I am explaining gets through to him now and more and more will get through to him with each passing day. Don’t underestimate your children, no matter how young. I believe that statement in the context of so many subjects (death, money, nutrition, etc).

My tips for you are pretty simple:

The earlier, the better. So start teaching about the concept of “work” early! Ingrained in him that money is earned through hard work and effort.
The earlier you start teaching the concept of work, paychecks, money, etc, the more simple language you need to use.
Use context your child will understand. For example you could talk about how money allows us to buy the food you eat, the milk he drinks, the car we drive, the blocks with which he plays, etc. Or a simple antidote about going to the store and paying for groceries. Anything that might connect the dots for your child, no matter how young.

Now the concept of “work” is not an easy one but have faith your child will begin to understand and the earlier you start introducing these concepts, the better. As your child grows older, you can introduce more tangible concepts of a paycheck via their own allowance system. On the less tangible side, think about concepts such as “the value of work”, strong work ethic, and the benefits of working in a team and as an individual.

Thanks for visiting!

Marnie

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Posted in Activities, Basic Concepts, Education, Financial Literacy, Homeschool, Kindergarten, Math, Money, Montessori, Musings, Parenting, Preschool, Toddler

5 Tips & Activities for Teaching Kids about Money

19 Feb

It is never too early to start applying lessons about financial responsibility. These tips on teaching spending responsibility may just do the trick for your younger children. Have fun & good luck!

1. Keep the Change: One of my memories as a young child was my mother giving me a dollar or two for the corner store. Whatever change we had leftover was ours to keep. What a fantastic lesson in spending! If I spend it all, I have nothing! If I am careful about what I chose to spend my money on, then I have some money in the (piggy) bank or the family bank (handled somewhere in mom and dad’s top secret computer files). This approach is hands on, interactive and deals directly with consequences. So, next time your child asks for a few bucks to go to the corner store (after earning it, of course!), try it!

2. Bargain Hunting: Whomever finds the best deal on XYZ in the grocery store, can choose the family snack for the week, or whatever incentive you chose.

3. Comparison Shopping: We do a lot of our shopping online and that includes reading product reviews and comparing products. Take the time to do this with your kids. Maybe to make it interesting to them, choose a product you are thinking about purchasing for them. Maybe a new lunch box, sneakers or back yard kiddie pool. This is a great opportunity to talk about cost/quality trade offs, customer experience and why one product may cost more than another.

4. Cheaper isn’t always better: Another grocery store activity: Find the most expensive banana or OJ and the least expensive banana or OJ. Similar to #3, talk about why one is more or less expensive than the other. Is it organic? Is it ready to eat?

5. Let’s Go to the Library: Library versus Buying a Book – I take my toddler to the library on a regular basis. At some point I look forward to explaining to him how the library borrowing system works. If your child needs a new book or to freshen up his or her collection, you have an opportunity to talk about borrowing versus owning.

6. Lemonade Stand: At some point in a kid’s early life, he or she wants to sell baked goods or lemonade at the end of the driveway. Seize the opportunity. One week, supply everything for your child and assist them in any way. Chances are that your child will be successful and let’s say earns $20. So then chances are that your child will want to no doubt sell lemonade again the next week. This time, however, take your child to the grocery story with the revenue ($20) from the prior week in hand. Buy the supplies from that $20, see what is left over as the profit. Repeat. This activity is hands on, interactive and your child will surely feel the ramifications and the benefits of being a store owner. Here is a great online game for your kids. Also a very sweet book to integrate charitable giving into this lesson is below.

These are a sample of a number of “teaching moments” that you can integrate into your family’s life. Enjoy and I look forward to sharing more with you!

Enjoy!
Marnie

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Posted in Activities, Basic Concepts, Education, Family Wellness, Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy, Homeschool, Kindergarten, Math, Money, Montessori, Parenting, Preschool, Toddler

10 Easy Ways To Help Your Child Develop Language

18 Feb

“When a child sees someone speak and hears his voice, there are two sensory draws – two simultaneous events both telling the child to pay attention to this single object of interest – this moment of human interaction. The result is that the infant is more focused, remembers the event, and learns more.” – NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

I read a lot about language development, I talk a lot about language development and I have experienced language development (my kids as opposed to me!). Over the years, here are a few pieces of advice I have carried with me. I hope you too find them helpful in your home.

With this list please keep in mind this quote I took to heart from Nutureshock: “The central role of the parent is not to push massive amounts of language into the baby’s ear; rather, the central role of the parent is to notice what’s coming from the baby, and respond accordingly-coming from his mouth, his eyes, and his fingers.”

Look at your child when you are speaking to them from day one. Seeing someone’s face makes a big difference in acquiring language. Babies learn language beginning with reading lips. They discover when sounds begin and end by studying how a person’s lips and mouth moves as he is speaking to him.
Be descriptive, like annoyingly so, from day one. Pretty soon the sound of your own voice will just about drive you crazy. Here is an example, “Oh, look at that bird flying high up in the blue sky above the trees with the green leaves.”
Be responsive to your child even when they ask you the same question for the 30th time and even when your child is at the babble stage. Help him learn the art of conversation.
Repeat the question or statement that your child has said to you. Not only does it reinforce the vocabulary or concept, repeating is a great opportunity to correct what your child has said instead of saying, “no, that is not right. You should say “xyz” like this…” For example, “The trained felled off the table, mama!” My response, “oh my goodness, the train fell off the table. How did the train fall off the table?”
Point to everything you reference or your child references. Furthermore, if your child is looking at a fence and says something that sounds like “bottle”, for example, say “fence” not “bottle” even if that is the word it sounds like your child is saying…
Verbalize your actions again to the point where you might 1) get funny looks (but who really cares about those stares) and 2) drive yourself insane at the sound of your voice. Yes, this approach is a bit annoying but it is effective. For example, “We’re walking down the street to the park.” Also count stairs, snaps, you name it. A great opportunity for your child to learn basic concepts and, for me at least, get a little distracted from a diaper change which is not usually taken lightly.
Sound out letters, especially the first letter of a word. For example, say, ‘H-h-h-house’. This one might also drive you nuts. At first, I swear my toddler was mocking me but now at 2.5 years old he is beginning to take the same approach. Really beautiful to watch.
Go to the library and surround your child with letters, words and books.
Create an environment for reading and quiet time at your home may lead to more learning and better focus and stating the obvious but read, read, read to your child! Track the words from left to right as you read the sentences.
Having your child choose books to borrow from the library (no matter what) will lead to more ownership of the process and hopefully a sense of confidence and independence.

Thank you for visiting!
Marnie

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Posted in Activities, Basic Concepts, Early Literacy, Education, Family Wellness, Infant, Language, Musings, Parenting, Toddler

Bathtime Sensory

12 Feb

Last night we had a bathtub full of goo. Sounds messy and crazy? Not so much. Super easy to do, safe and loads of fun for you and your kids!

We are huge fans of bath time in our home. Not only does it mark the transition from day to evening routine, we get to embark EVERY DAY on one of the best and easiest sensory experiences for children – BATH TIME! Lately I have been using bath time as a way to give the boys a little extra by throwing a twist into the bath.

For example, for my younger son’s 1st birthday we had a glow in the dark bath. I purchased several glow sticks, threw them in the bath, turned off the lights and voila! Instant joy! That was a fun bath. Or we’ll just have bath paint or crayons. A lot of fun experimenting with colors.

I came upon the idea of bath jelly through Pinterest. Jamie from Hands on as We Grow shared this idea from Think Geek. I was immediately in love. I purchased “bath goo” from Amazon and went for it. Totally safe product containing NO HARMFUL CHEMICALS that doesn’t stain bodies or the tub! This goo turns water into a consistency like somewhat thick apple sauce. The best part? You can turn the goo back into water in one easy step.

Here is what the “powder” looks like before you dump it in the tub:

I drew a bath without bubbles. The boys climbed into the tub. They were very curious about what I was planning for their tub time. I dumped the “goo former” into the tub and watched as the boys’ eyes widened with interest and intrigue. The goo formed slowly over the next ten minutes eventually becoming thick.

After digging, pouring, scooping and lots of good old playing, bath time came to an end. I added the “goo disolver” and again watched eyes of interest and intrigue as the goo slowly turned back to water. The product does claim to “soften and clean the skin” but I decided for good measure to add bubble bath and warm water to give them a bit of a cleansing bath.

As the bath was turning back to water, my son grabbed his “fishing” net and began to scoop and play with the changing texture. It was a great experience. Lots of good sensory fun. The mess was minimal (except when my 2.5 year old hopped out of the bath after his little brother, even then the pick up wasn’t that bad). I highly recommend this experience for a special bath time event!

Have fun! Thanks for visiting!
Marnie

Note: The product descriptions read “not suitable for children under 5″. I stuck close by the boys in the tub. They were fine. Just make sure there is no eating or standing in the tub!