Teaching Kids About Money

As a parent there are a lot of things you have to teach your kids; sleeping through the night, going to the bathroom, how to tie your shoes, reading, writing and the list goes on and on.  Sometimes along the way you will realize you forgot to teach your child something, like counting money.  Today I am sharing some tips on how to teach your kids about money.

We are already in our third week of school, and when my youngest came home from school one day with a math paper that showed the value of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter as 1, 2, 3, 4; I realized that was something I had never taught him.  I pulled out some change and told him this was a penny and it was worth 1 cent, this is a nickel it is 5 cents, etc.- but it seemed to go right over his head, so I knew I needed to do something different.

How To Teach Kids About Money

1. Teach Coin Amounts
   -To help kids learn how much coins are worth, show them using counters- we used Honey Nut Cheerios.

   -We first sorted the coins in value from lowest to highest, then talked about how much each coin is worth.

  -My son counted out the amount of Cheerios and placed that amount underneath each coin.

 -It was then so much easier for him to visually see that the dime, even though actually smaller than the nickel is actually worth more.

-I then asked him questions like, how many pennies would you need to make a quarter.  Since we had the Cheerios there, I could also phrase it as how many Cheerios would you need to be the same as the quarter's Cheerios.

It truly was like a light bulb moment and it suddenly seemed to make sense.

Plus, he was more than happy to eat the Cheerios when we were done learning, and since Cheerios are made of 100% Whole Grain Oats with no artificial flavors or colors, it is a great afternoon snack I don't mind him eating.

2. Practice Making Money
   Kids love playing real world things, like restaurant or store.  My kids often will play restaurant, ordering pretend food and "cooking" for each other.  You can help your kids create a menu, or let them create it, with food prices listed.

Then use real money, or play money, and have them pay for their food.  They will practice counting money and adding money all while feeling like they are just playing.

3. The Value of Money
  -"It only costs $20!" -has your child ever said something like this?  How can you help kids understand the value of money?

-In our home, we have house hold chores that we have our kids do simply because they are part of our family and we all work together.   If they do their jobs without having to be asked and without whining, then they can earn money for their jobs.

((I shared more about our family economy in this post))

Then as the kids earn money, it helps them recognize how much work they had to do to get that $20, how many weeks they had to save, and they are much less likely to spend it on a bunch of junk at the dollar store.

-As a stay-at-home mom I try to always thank my husband, and point out to my kids, how hard he works to provide for our family and that we are able to do the things we do because of his hard work and dedication.

**What tips do you have to teach your kids about money?  Is there ever anything you realized you forget to teach you kids?**

It's Good Life Isn't Fair

Every once in a while you hear something that truly reaches you, changes your thinking.

Sunday in church, during Relief Society, a meeting for women 18 and over, the teacher made a comment that made me really pause and ponder.

"It is good life isn't fair."

Now as a mother, I hear "it's not fair" way more often than I would like to admit.  "Life isn't fair" I will often come retort.

But on Sunday, the teacher said, "It is good life isn't fair".

She went on to explain, that none of us are perfect, or ever will be.  We all make mistakes, we all have faults and try our best to make our ways through life, but we will always fall short.  There was one who was perfect.  There was one who came to earth and lived a perfect life only to suffer and die for each and everyone of us.  If life was "fair", then He wouldn't have to suffer for crimes and sins He did not commit.  If life was fair, He would have been rewarded and punished for His actions alone.  But He did die for us. He did suffer and feel every single pain, sickness, infliction and injustice each of us have and will go through.  It wasn't fair, but He did it because of love.

So it is good life isn't fair, good that He took upon him everything even though He didn't have to in order for us to be saved.

The other day I watched a video a friend posted.  This friend is a high school science teacher at a really rough school.  He gave his students a marble tower toy, yes a toy- one my own kids have had since they were preschoolers and they could not quite figure out how to put it together.  It broke my heart watching this.

Life isn't fair and sometimes the discrepancies in life are just astounding and unexplainable.  Why was I born into the life I was, why have I been given the privileges and opportunities I have?

The older I get the more I realize this life does not have all the answers.  But someday, someday there will be answers, there will be pure light and hope and everything will seem fair.

As I drove home from church this last Sunday, I told my kids what I had learned.  'Wow!' they all proclaimed.  Later that night when Alex resorted to "that's not fair"- I reminded her what I had taught them earlier. She quickly changed her attitude and said, "You are right, it is good it is not fair."

Life is not fair, and it is good.  That does not mean I am not going to do all I can to try and take away some of the pain, injustices and problems in the world today right now.  I am going to teach my kids to look for those who are sad, look for those who are alone. I am going to do the same myself.  I am going to teach my kids the importance of hard work, a good education and never giving up- so that they can be successful, contribute to society and be able to help give back.   I am going to try my best to be a beacon of hope and light to those around me.

Life isn't fair- but this is good.

I cannot do this on my own, I need my Heavenly Father and Savior everyday and with and only because of their help can I be saved.

It's good life isn't fair.

Teaching Athletes to be Moral Warriors

If you follow me on Twitter, especially on a game day, it is no surprise that I am a huge BYU football fan.  Growing up when my Dad would turn on football, I didn't really like it.  Then in Junior High when we played flag football in PE and I began to understand the rules, a trickle of enjoyment began to form.  Then my freshmen year at BYU sealed the deal, I was a fan.

When Brock Lance Richardson (a former BYU football player) contacted me and asked if I would review his book Latter Day Warriors Stepping into your Spiritual Strength, I quickly agreed.

The Book
Discover the spiritual warrior in you! Based on the belief that every soul has a spiritual warrior within, author Brock Lance Richardson interviews ten men he met through BYU football. Each reveals what it takes to become physically and spiritually strong, while their wives describe what it means to be a “warrior” for young women. Perfect for youth and young adults, this entertaining and spiritually uplifting read will teach you how to build spiritual stamina and to use your inner warrior for good.

My Review:
  I love that in a day filled with stories of athletes partying, committing crimes and getting away with it-- that a different standard can and should be set for those star athletes.  I love that this book highlights athletes who are tying to live their lives differently, better.  
   The book isn't just for athletes though, it is for all youth and teenagers; the author wants them to be able to recognize the potential and strength they have within themselves, their warrior spirit battling for good.  
   Something fun and unique about this book is not only did the author interview the athletes but their wives; it is fun to see the other side of things and their perspectives and how they work together to support each other.  
   This is definitely a book I will be giving my son (and my daughter) to read in their teenage years.  It will have a strong appeal to boys that love football and will leave them wanting to reach for and a be a little more, a better person.  

Find the author here:
  Website//Facebook

You can purchase the book at the following
   Amazon//Desseret Book//Barnes and Nobel//

Tools to Help Your Kids Succeed

Have you ever heard parents talking to their babies, often in those high silly voices and thought, well that is kind of annoying?  Did you know those parents are actually doing a huge service to their kids?

Did you realize that 90% of a child's brain development occurs in the first five years?  90%!  As a mother of three, with my youngest now five, I can't help but look back and wonder if I did enough.

But don't worry if you didn't do flash cards, enroll your child in every class, find enriching activities every day; as just three simple things can have a huge impact.

Talk,  Read, Sing!® 

From the First 5 California Website it states:
 "A number of factors influence early brain development.  These important factors include: daily experiences, parent responsiveness, nutrition, physical activity, genetics, and love.

So what are some things you can do to help your kids succeed:

Infants:

  Talk to them, sing to them, read to them

When my oldest was starting solid food, we had a "song" for almost every food he tried.

  "Peas, peas- we love the peas.  Please, please, please pass the peas.  Oh how we love the peas."

It was just a silly few lines, sang to random tunes, but it got to the point where he almost didn't even want to eat the food unless we sang the song.  

We were always singing and talking.  I would just walk around with him on my hip and tell him what things were in the house and what I was doing. I have no doubt it had an influence on the fact that he was speaking in complete sentences around 1 1/2-years old. 

Here is a little throw-back to when my now almost 11-year-old was 1 1/2.

Toddlers:
 Read to them, Talk to them, Sing to them, Explore with them

Toddlers are active, they are learning new things almost daily.  Hopefully you have already been reading but at this age they can begin to interact with the book more.  It is often hard to get toddlers to sit still, but short, funny stories with bright pictures can often reel in even the most active toddler.

My oldest seemed like he would never sit still, except for when I read to him; we would read for hours.

The great thing with books and reading is it is free!  The local library is a heaven of books and fun.  If I found a book one of my kids really liked, I would then search the thrift stores for that book, as reading a book again and again (as much as it drives the parent crazy) is actually a great tool for word recognition and learning to read.  

Alex at age 2, would "read" me her favorite book.  "I love Trees"  She really had it memorized and was just saying the words, but as a child does this again and again their brain will make the connection between the written word and what they are saying.

Another throw-back to Alex reading her favorite book. 

Preschoolers  Explore with them, Read to them, talk to them, Sing to them
At this age kids will begin to ask why, not only why do they have to do things (the why that drives parents crazy), but why things happen, why things work the way they do.  It can be tiring to answer their endless questions, but this is a time when the world is beginning to open up to them in a whole new way and they are making connection and understandings like never before.   So answer those why's. When my kids were younger I stared a Time for Tot's Day, where just one day a week I would plan a little "lesson" with activities to go along with that theme.   My kids loved these days.  We would talk about science, we would act out stories, we would learn about shapes and holidays.  We only did this one day a week, but that one day seemed to set the pace and attitude for our entire week.  At this age, you can help prepare for school too.  It always seems to work best when learning doesn't feel like learning.  Trying to teach them sight words-let them whack the word with a toy hammer or throw a ball at the word.    Teaching them about science- get some water and freeze it and then put those ice cubes in a pan and watch them melt.   The key is to just always be talking, always describing, always making connections for their brains. Use big words just make sure you explain what it means too.  You will be amazed at what they can comprehend.     Resources to Help There are so many great resources out there, blogs dedicated to teaching, Pinterest is full of ideas, and now there is a new resource First 5 California.  This site is dedicated to resources for those first five years.  They realize the importance and the amount of brain growth that occurs these years so have provided great resources and teaching tools.  The site has:   Activity Centers   Health Center   Learning Center   FREE Music  It really is a great site with so many free resources to help you help your child learn.   Definitely head over to First 5 California and find some inspiration for you and your kids.  At the end of the day, if you are there for your children, there with your children and talking, singing and reading to them- you are helping your children grow and develop. 

Whack-A-Word and Other Fun Ways to Learn Sight Words

Love them or hate them, at some point every elementary school-age kid is going to have to learn sight words.  For some advanced readers they come easily and quickly, but sometimes you have to get a little creative to help them learn.  Today I am sharing a new way my son and I use to learn sight words and sharing some other tips and ideas.

Whack-a-Word

Write the sight words on index cards.  I just did 4 words at a time, as he is just in pre-school.  Then as you say the word, the child whacks or hits the right word.  

My son used one of his toy hammers.  You could use a fly swatter, a princess wand, whatever your child likes.

I would call out a word and he would whack it.  

I would switch up the order, and as he got better and would increase the speed a little bit.

He really enjoyed doing this but thought it was even more fun, when he was in charge.  He would whack the card and I had to say the words, very very quickly. 

He was hitting the words so fast when it was my turn, I am not sure how many he really was learning at that point, but it helped him totally enjoy the activity and he asked again several times to whack his words.  

Tips and Tricks

With sight words, consistency is the key.  You need to be consistently working with your child, not just the night before the test.  That is why I believe it is good to find some different ways to study the words, rather than doing the same thing every time.

Stephanie of The Vintage Modern Wife, a former first grade teacher gave these ideas:
   --Sight Word Race: Put Students in two teams and put a sight word up on a screen via PowerPoint.  First person in line had to yell it out first and then the next kid would go.
  --Use Funny Voices: Teach the kids the words using silly voices, anything to make it more enjoyable.

 Melissa of This Girl's Life Blog- said that her sister-in-law who is a teacher, has her students use play dough to shape out the words

Shell of Things I Can't Say- also a former teacher said: Write out the letters of the alphabet with chalk (on the ground outside), then have the child jump from letter to letter to spell the common sight words.  Or write the sight words on the ground with chalk, say the words and have them jump to the word and even share a rhyming word if they can. 

Ideas Around the Web

Here are a few more great ideas I found on-line. Click the title to take you to the original post and find out more information about each method.

Twister With Sight Words

 A great way to review a group of words and really get them moving

Word Family Slam

For those boys and girls that like to throw things- slam that ball into the words

Tic-Tac-Toe Sight Words

Tape the words into an egg carton- and play a game of Tic-Tac-Toe 

(she uses this for numbers and letters too)

Writing Sight Words With Chalk

Write the words and then have the child circle the words 

or throw a bean bag at the right words

Clothes Pin Sight Words

Match the words on the clothes-pin to the words on the card

Sight-Word Parking Lot

Do you have any tips or tricks that you use for teaching sight words?

Kids Do What You Expect

Recently a friend of mine told how she was going to start giving her teenage son a monthly budget.  He would be given a certain amount of money at the beginning of the month and that money would be all he would get for extra things.  If he blew all his money in the first week, then that would mean he might miss out on something later that month.  She was still going to be providing clothes and other basic necessities for him, it was the extra things his money would be used for.

Some of the people that commented on her post were critical of her plan, saying that is too much for a teenager.

It is too much for a teenager to learn how to budget?  It is too much for a teenager to learn some responsibility in life and the fact that actions do have consequences?

Too many people feel entitled to things in this country, a nice car, a nice home, a phone.... they go through life expecting to be able to get these things whenever they want.

Growing up my parents saved for everything.  They would save until they could buy a car with cash, then they would fix and repair that car over and over again until they finally had to buy another.  I remember when we needed to get a new refrigerator; I went along thinking it would be fun to pick out a new fridge.  Six stores later, as my dad had to check out all the stores to make sure he was getting the best price and I regretted my decision.

When my father was unemployed for several months, my family was still okay.  They had saved for a rainy day, not only monetarily but with a food storage.  My dad was doing everything he could to find another job, even taking the training to become a school bus driver just so that he could provide for our family.   He was a college graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering; a profession he had worked in for over 25 years, when he was forced to take early retirement due to the company having to downsize after a lot of illegal activity from the higher-ups, sort of Enron experience.  But he was going to do whatever it took.

Thankfully he got an engineering job right before it was time to start as a bus driver, as with his temperament that would have been the absolute worst job for him, but he was willing to do whatever it took to provide for our family.

He taught us to be responsible, to help and to give, but most importantly to always work hard.

To my friend who is trying to help her son learn lessons about real life, who is willing to stand by and watch her son maybe miss out on a few things so that he can learn, I applaud you.  Kids are capable of what we expect of them.  If we protect them, hand them all a trophy and say everyone is a winner then they will expect to always win, to always finish first, and when real life catches up with them it is going to be a huge slap in the face.

Kids can do hard things and so can parents.  Parents can do hard things by stepping back and letting them learn, letting them stumble but always with open arms knowing that we will love them no matter what.



Let's stop the coddling, stop the entitlement, stop their beliefs that everything will be handed to them, before it is too late.

Expect your kids to be great because they can do hard things.

How To Teach Kids to Work

As a mother not only do I want my kids to know that I completely love and support them but I also want to teach them to be good people who contribute to society and I know that begins now with me teaching them to work.

There are many ideas and opinions about kids working and if they should get paid allowances or not.   This is what we found to work for our family.

The Family Economy 

  The family economy is based on the idea that we are all part of the family and because we are- we are expected and required to do certain things simply because you are part of the family.

A family for us is filled with love, friendship, laughter, and lots of hard work.  

As part of the family economy the kids have the chance to earn money.  They are required to do certain jobs/tasks every day but if they do them WITHOUT whining or too much prompting then they can earn money.

We do it this way for a few reasons.  First, in case they decided they didn't want any money they couldn't just say, 'well I am not going to do my jobs' as they are required.  Second, it teaches them to be self- starters and helps eliminate whining, something I will take any day.

Why Money

  I believe it is important for kids to learn the concept of money, the cost of things and the idea of savings while it doesn't really matter much.

What do I mean by not matter much?   If my son decides to spend all his money on toys from the dollar store, he will soon realize that those toys are a dollar for a reason and that he probably just waisted his money.  My daughter can learn that if she really wants that Lego friend's house, she is going to have to pass up the candy, the Barbie and every other girl thing she sees until she has enough money for the house she really wants.  

And if they waste their money and make some mistakes at this point in their life-- it won't affect for them for the long run except for helping make sure they don't make these mistakes later in life when the stakes are much higher.  

The Job Chart

This is the chart we (Eric actually put it together) have for our kids who are 6 and 8.

Link to download this below

We put each of their charts inside an 8X10 picture frame.

We then duct-tapped a string to a wipe off marker and tapped it to the back of the frame.   That way their markers, even if they fall off the top (which they do) stay with the board.  We have these hanging in our butler's pantry.

And guess what-- you can download the jpg file by clicking below

Download JPG file of Job Charts 

Every day- they have to do 10/12 things  in the daily columns.  

Their daily jobs are:

  -Make their bed

  -Brush their teeth

  -Get dressed
  -Do Homework

  -Put Socks Away

  -Put Coat Away

  -Put Backpack away

  -Read 

  -Help with Dishes After Dinner

  -Clean up Toys at Night

  -Bedroom is Clean

  -Bonus Point  (can be anything I may need help with or if I notice them being extra kind, serving, etc)

In order to be able to mark off their check at the end of the day they have to get 10 of the 12 things.  Some mornings are rushed, and some days things just get busy so we want to give them a little leeway so they don't give up.  They are responsible for marking off their charts everyday-- if they don't then they don't get their points.

Also, there can be free points- like on Friday's and Saturday's there is no homework, so they get that point for free; but you can choose to do it as you want. 

 Weekly Jobs:

   When we first started this we actually had these weekly jobs as part of the daily jobs; so one day they might have to vacuum, another day dust, etc.   Then soccer began and between soccer, scouts, homework and life some days it just seemed impossible.

So now we have weekly jobs: 

  Each week they are required to vacuum- but they can pick which day they want to do it.  Also sometime during the week they must choose 3 of the 4 weekly jobs:  helping clean the bathrooms, dusting, helping with laundry, or mop.   

They can pick which day they want to do these jobs- if they get all of their weekly jobs done on Monday then they are done.  But if they put them all off until Saturday, then they will be spending Saturday morning doing them.   

They must get their weekly points in order for any of the rest of of their points to count.   If they do great the whole week but never vacuum, then they get nothing; as they did not 'finish their assignment' so to speak. 

The Allowance
  For our children with consideration to their ages; currently we have each day worth $1- so by the end of the week if they have completed everyday and done their weekly jobs then they can earn $6 total.

We have chosen not give them physical money, but I have an App called Cash Vault.  I have set up a piggy bank for each kid.  I deposit the money into their accounts each week.

This way if we are at the store and if they ask "can I get that?"  rather than having to just say no, I can say "yes, but let's see if you have enough money." I have to admit, it feels good to say yes rather than no right away.  I can then open the app and we can find out if they have enough money.  If they do, then they are free to buy what they want.  If it is something I think would be a waste of money I of course will talk with them about why this might not be the best choice, but ultimately it is up to them.

Alex really wanted the Lego Friends house, which cost $70.  She said she wanted to save for this.  We would be out shopping and she would see something and be like- oh I want that, can I buy it?  I would pull out the app, tell her her money and then remind her of her goal.  She would sigh, put the toy back on the shelf and agree that she did want to save her money.  After more than 3 months of saving, we got to take a trip to the Lego store.  And you know, she takes very good care of that toy and she worked and saved a long time for it.

It has been so wonderful to see my kids able to learn to work hard, save their money and work for the things they really want.  It is a lesson that will help them forever.

And I have to give credit where credit is due-- I did not come up with this idea all on my own, but learned many of the principles and foundation for these ideas a year ago when I attended the Power of Mom's conference.  It truly was a day that changed my life in so many ways.  And I am so excited that at the end of this month I will be attending another Power of Mom's retreat.  If you are a mom who lives anywhere near the LA area please, please consider coming and attending this life changing day.  You can get more information about the retreat by clicking here.

I am linking this post up at the following crafting blogs