{MIY} MAKE-IT-YOURSELF MONDAY! Money Management Jars

Last week we made chore charts for our little one(s) to help them keep track of the chores they are responsible for each day.  Nickelbug is LOVING hers, she even woke up early a couple times last week excited to do her chores!  She enjoys flipping the cards over to show the smiley face indicating that she's done that chore for the day.  This is such a fun way to get her motivated and also it builds her confidence knowing she's contributing to helping me take care of our home :O)  

Along with her beginning to take on chores, she is now starting to make earnings for the work that she does each week.  The chore chart is a way for her (and I) to track her progress for each day to make sure all her responsibilities are taken care of by the end of the week in order to get paid.  Instead of her putting in hours at the office for her earnings she is putting in time by completing certain chores each day.  Right now she is 6 so the chores are simple, short tasks that she is capable of completing.  As she gets older the chores will change to meet her capabilities as she grows.  If I were to make them harder, more time consuming, or too complicated right now then it would only burn her out and discourage her.  My goal is to encourage her and build her up through this process :O)

Even at such a young age, with her making a small amount of earnings I think it's important to start teaching her how to manage her money.  For a Christmas gift from a family member, my boyfriend received Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey which is a class I've been wanting to take.  In one of Dave's segments he talks about an envelope system to help manage your money in a simple manner.  

For Nickelbug I decided to create some pretty jars, instead of envelopes, to aid in teaching her how to manage her money as she receives her earnings each week.  The amount of earnings your little one earns is up to you.  Every age is different and every households needs vary so please don't feel the need to repliccate my exact amounts.  I'm sharing what works for us at this point in time.

Nickelbug is now receiving $5 at the end of the week if she completes her chores each day (4-5 simple chores).  I am teaching her to split up her earnings and place them in 3 separate jars: Spend, Save, and Give.  She will be putting $2 into Spend, $2 into Save, and $1 into Give.  Along this journey I will be reinforcing why we should set a limit to how much we spend, the importance of setting aside a certain amount to save for future goals, and how important it is to give and how it pleases God's heart and blesses us when we do so.

In combination with the chore chart, she was SOOOO excited last night to receive the jars and to count out her earnings for the week and to divide it up for each jar.  I briefly explained to her what each jar means and what we will be working on regarding her money and budget and this morning she woke up SO excited to GIVE!  She took her giving portion ($1)  with her today just in case she had a chance to give it to someone haha.  We discussed giving more in the car on the way to school.  She is already willing and happy to give  to those in need from what she earns :O)  (2 Corinthians 9:7 New Living Translation (NLT) 7  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”)   

Okay, now for the fun part: making your little one some money management jars!  

Here is what you need:

3 Mason Jars

Ribbon

Small Tags

Twine

Burlap Cloth

Flowers

Scrapbook Paper

First, get your scrapbook paper out.  Remove the metal lid from your mason jar and place the outer rim (top-side-down) on the scrapbook paper to trace the inside circle (the part of the lid that screws onto the jar, not the flat center piece that covers the opening).  Trace 3 circles and cut them out.  Hot glue them to the flat part of the lid (the part that covers the opening).  

Next, size and cut your burlap fabric to fit around the body of the mason jar.  Then hot glue it onto the jar.

Before you move onto the next step, let's create the tags.  The tags I found at Michael's craft store were already painted with black chalk paint for $.59 each.  I used chalk paint pens to write the title for each jar onto them.  

After you create your jar tags, then take your choice of ribbon to size and cut it to fit around the neck of the bottle.   Hot glue the ribbon around the neck.  Tie the tag to hang from the ribbon.

Lastly, take your choice of flower and glue that onto the burlap fabric.

Complete all of the above on the other two jars and you will have yourself a wonderful, handmade system to introduce your little one to managing their earnings!  

I hope this is not only a fun project to complete, but also a project that helps you and your little one to explore how to work together on this learning journey!  :O)

Sending you uber loads of Love, Laughter and Light!

~Cassie

{MIY} MAKE-IT-YOURSELF MONDAY! Daily Chore Chart for Little One(s)

For those of you that have little ones that are of age to begin having daily chores, here is a great chore chart you can create that will help your little one to remember what their daily responsibilities are.

Here's what you need:

Cork Board

Fabric

Thumb Tacks

Twine

Scrapbook Paper

Mini Clothes Pins

Acrylic Paint

Marker

First cut the fabric a little bigger than our cork board.

Get your thumb tacks out.  Wrap the fabric around the the cork board and tack the fabric to the back.  I reinforced the fabric with hot glue because my tacks weren't staying very well because the back of my cork bard has a layer of cardboard backing.

Next punch out one tag so you can use it to help space out your twine.

Once you have your example tag then wrap, measure off and cut 6 strands of twine.  One for the heading and 5 for each weekday, Monday through Friday.  Tie the twine around the board.  I reinforced mine with hot glue so they would't slide down.

Once you have your six twine rows secure then you can finish punching out the rest of your tags.  Punch out as many as you need for each day.  

Then get your marker and write out 5 tags with a day on each one (Monday through Friday).  Then on the other tags write down the chores you want your little one to do each day on one side.  On the other side draw a smiley face  :O)

Get your mini clothes pins out and, starting on the second row of twine for Monday, hang each chore you would like your little one(s) to complete for that day.  Then go on to the next row for Tuesday and do the same.  Keep moving on to the next row for the next day until you complete Friday on the 6th row of twine.  

You're almost done with your little ones chore chart!

Last you'll get your acrylic paint out and paint a title on a rectangular strip of scrapbook paper.  I chose a simple title, "daily chores".  Then hang it on the top row of twine.

Tah-dah!  Your little one has a wonderful chore chart to refer to each day to complete their daily chores.  It's great fun for them to complete a task for the day and then flip the task around to reveal a wonderful smile :O)  This will help your little one to gain self-respect knowing that they are helping contribute to their personal up-keep and will be able to grow confidence as they help contribute to maintaining the family household.  

I hope you enjoy creating this fun chore chart for your little one! 

Sending you lots of Light and Laughter!

~Cassie

{PARENTING} DOING LIFE WITH YOUR LITTLE ONE(S)

 

{Artwork by my favorite artist: Katie Daisy}

The other day I saw in passing a picture, or sign, or status, something, that mentioned a line about "do life with your children" and it's  been in my head ever since.  I tried to track down where I saw that, but couldn't.  It's been rolling around in my mind the past few days and my thoughts have been similar to: "Do life with your kids?  Isn't that what a parent does from the time their child emerges into their world?"  I mean, we're responsible for them and we're with them most of the time if they aren't in school.  Every.  Day.  

So, through my days of musing, I've started to develop bionic ears becoming super attentive to what Nickels has been sharing with me.  I've become super sensitive to how I'm speaking to her and ultra aware of the quality of time we have together.  Mentally picking apart the times I get short with her and sound snippy and other times where I might not be fully listening and then snap back to reality when I realize she's saying, "Mama...Mama...," over and over again to get my attention.  It's easier to get caught up in over analyzing where I'm lacking as a parent than to see all the love I'm pouring over her and the good I'm instilling in her.  

Last night, since it was chilly outside, I decided we were going to get a fire going and do her homework together by the fire.  When we were almost done with her homework that's when it dawned on me: "This is doing life with my little one!"  It's moments like this that define "do life with your children" to me.  It's moments like this that will build her trust in me and create in her a desire to be close throughout life.  It's moments like this that will make her want to go grab a coffee with me and share with me what is going on in her world.  It's as simple as that.  Creating a warm fire (a favorite of the Librizzi Girls) and making a pallet on the floor and getting cozy together in front of it.  (AND we got her homework done at the same time!  #winning )  :O)

{Our pallet by the fire last night, doing her homework together}

Keep things simple.  Relax some and enjoy the journey with your little one(s).  You always have control of simplifying as you move ahead on your journey.  Don't beat yourself up and over analyze how you do things, or what you don't do, or what you say or don't say.  Breathe with a sigh of relief that you can keep things simple...it's your face time, your loving words, and cuddles that mean the most to your little ones in their young years.  Simple.  Flying a kite, reading a book, painting a pumpkin, sitting by a fire, coloring, etc.     

Turn a new leaf and step forward with a simpler, fresh perspective.  It'll make both you and your little one(s) smile  :O)

{The day we flew a kite together.  I love her smile}

Sending out lots of Light and Laughter,

~Cassie