Gettin' Paid!

Oh, lazy Tuesday!  The kids have been wandering around playing and I have been poking around the house getting some things ready to be mailed, paying bills, all of that super exciting stuff.  I thought I'd share a couple of pics I took yesterday with you.  The kids have started helping out around the house with "chores" every day now.  They have been helping with little jobs for a while now, but this is the first time they have been given specific jobs that are their responsibility.  We really wanted to start teaching them about money and how to spend it carefully.  Ella is such a girl and really loves to shop.  (I have NO idea where in the world she got this from..........okay maybe I have a little idea...) But anyways, while in Target the other day I was trying to put into perspective how much things cost in comparison to each other and got the idea to start paying her for chores around the house so she can have her own money to spend.  We will still be buying her things as well, but we will use this money to teach her how to save for bigger things or toys that she wants.  

Noah's chores are wiping down the dishwasher and oven every day and helping to keep his room clean.  He takes these responsibilities very serious.

Ella's chores are to wipe off the table after meals and wipe down the refrigerator daily.  She also has to help keep her room tidy.  She always gets really into it and wipes down the chairs and everything.  She just likes feeling so grown up or something getting to "clean". Ha!

Every Friday we give them a dollar.  We pay them in dimes and they can trade the dimes in for dollars every time they get ten.  When they get paid they put one dime in "Give" one dime in "Save" and the rest in "Spend".  They are loving this so much and I can't wait until they have the opportunity to do something special with their "Give" money.

I found these little jars on clearance at Target and then we just labeled them with stickers we already had around the house.  I was really torn on maybe wrapping them in scrapbook paper, but I thought keeping them clear would give them a better visual of the money they have in each jar.

One of the fun things about being in a new place is the clean slate to start new routines and habits!  That has been really nice!  My most favorite so far that we have implemented here in WI is a weekly date night!  Yipee!  We have never been very good about making time to go on dates or have some time for quiet conversation.  Mainly because Randy spent the last year working out of town for weeks at a time.  So now that he has a better schedule, we found a great babysitter that the kids really love and have a standing date for Monday nights.  This week we moved it to Tuesday so that Randy could meet with the sound team last night.  So that means I have a hot date tonight! ;)

Easy Spring Craft

Ella brought home the neatest little craft last week and I wanted to share it with all of you!  She made this last Tuesday at Pre-School and we have been having so much fun watching it grow!  

Materials Needed:

* Any color paper (but card stock would be best)

*Scissors

*Marker or crayons

*Scotch Tape

*Ziplock bag

*Cotton Balls

*Bird seed

All you need to do is cut out your paper into the shape of a little house.  You'll want the house to have the center cut out so that it appears to be the clear window of a Greenhouse. (See pictures below).  Ella's is plain, but I think it would have been fun to let the kids color and decorate it.  Next, take two or three cotton balls dipped in water and place them in the ziplock.  Pour in some birdseed and tape the ziplock to the back of your little house.  Be sure to keep the back of the ziplock bag open so that air can get in.  Place your bag in a sunny place and wait for your seeds to grow!

We hung ours in the kitchen window.  I didn't realize that bird seeds were really well...ummm..seeds?!? I mean, I KNEW they were seeds (hence the name)..I guess I just never ever thought to plant them and see what they grew!!  The thing I loved the most about using the bird seed is that they have been super quick to grow.  Literally a day or two after we brought them home they were starting to sprout.  This is great for little ones because they can see almost instant results.  Like I said, ours have only been growing for a little over a week!

All thanks for this craft goes to Ella's sweet teacher, Mrs. Debbie.  We have just borrowed her idea to share with our friends because I know alot of you have small children and I thought you would enjoy this simple idea! 

We have been sprinkling in some water every day or two to keep the cotton balls nice and moist..

Happy Growing!!