Teaching Children About Money

How did you learn about the value of money? Did you learn from a lecture of your parents or teachers, from reading about it, or, umm, from personal experience handling your own finances?

How to Motivate Your Child

Children, just like adults, often perform better when there is a proverbial carrot dangling just ahead. A bit of motivation can work wonders to guide your child towards better behavior or improved schoolwork.

The old fashioned chart is the generally the simplest method for you and your child to gauge his progress. A simple check mark in the allotted box will provide accurate statistics for both of you to view his betterment.

Last month, I printed a table that I had created in Word that consisted of three rows (for my three children) and forty columns. I chose the number forty, bearing in mind that if each child receives 2-4 checks per day in his row, the chart would be finished in about 2-3 weeks.

Younger children have a lesser understanding of time and delayed gratification. Toddlers should receive their reward daily, while children in the 3-5 age brackets can wait one or two weeks in anticipation of their reward. Thirty days would be the maximum time for a school-age child to obtain their reward. Teenagers can have longer-term goals, with ninety days being the longest stretch of time they ought to wait.

It took my children between two and three weeks for them to garner all of the necessary check marks for good behavior on their charts. I should note, that my children had asked for diabolos after seeing others in the neighborhood with the Chinese yo-yo. We wrote “Diabolos” on the top of the chart, and all of the children eagerly anticipated the day their chart would be completed, and they would get their prize.

Ad their check marks neared the end of the forty boxes in each column, my children looked for opportunities to earn additional checks and finish their charts. “Mom, can I get another check if I sweep the kitchen?” and “I shared the snacks from my friend’s birthday party with my brother- may I please have another check” were commonly heard!

It was a joy to have my competitive children looking out for one another, and search for opportunities to demonstrate good behavior! Find an object your child desires, print out a chart, and watch the growth in their behavior and their check marks!

9 Ways to Motivate Your Kids to Achieve

“Animal School” Feedback!

RaisingSmallSouls’ popular movie, “Animal School” has generated a flury of comments. Educators and parents have raved about the moral of the story, and it has inspired many to take a deeper and more individual look at their students and children.

Scroll Down to Read and Post Comments!

Click here to read the Animal School Movie Text.

The music is Yellow Flutterby Dreams- http://gbhprod.com/songs

Recently, I’ve been thinking about which type of animal is catered to in a traditional school setting, and I believe it is the sheep. Passive followers do very well in school. ‘Sheep’ do as they are told, never question rules, and consistently follow the directions they are given. That’s not to say that other animals cannot do well in school… they can! Yet, most schools are geared towards the needs and charateristics of the sheep!

A father told me about his two sons, who are as different as night and day. The eleven-year-old is a straight-A model student. On the other hand, the eight-year-old is restless, creative, and entrepreneurial. Since the younger son is “weight-challenged” (is that the current politically-correct way of saying “a little overweight”?) his mother sends him to school with fruits and vegetables as snacks. The family struggles financially, and the child does not bring any money with which to buy snacks. However, at the beginning of recess, the third-grade child asks his teacher for a handfull of plastic cups. He borrows a dollar and finds a child with a 32oz. Snapple, and purchases the drink. Then he pours a bit of the iced-tea into each of his dozen cups, and sells them to his fellow students. He uses his profits to repay the loan and buy the commercialized sugar-and-salt-coated snacks that he craves. At the end of the day, he has had his fill of junk-food and several dollars in profit!

Which child has more “street smarts”? Which child is more likely to succeed in the “real world”? If you own a business, which child would you hire to work as your salesman?

RaisingSmallSouls.com values your feedback, share your thoughts below!

Sincerely,

Personalized Books: Reading, Having Fun, & Building Confidence!

What could possibly be better than reading with your child, having fun, and building their self-confidence… all at the same time?!

Personalized books let your child feel special every time you turn the page and read about their character. It definitely feels good to have your name in print… even if you are a kid!

Your child is the star of each magical story. There are books about trains, school, animals, parades, dinosaurs, and more! You can also personalize fun stories surrounding the birth of your child. Every story includes child’s name, age, hometown, friends, your personalized dedication and more!

You and your child will treasure these books for many years!

Vist The Giggle Pitt – Personalized Children’s Books & more! right now!