Entries due Oct. 25 !!

I hope you are all working hard to complete your moonjar project entries.  The judges are anxious to hear your stories!  Prizes are to be awarded at an assembly, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 15.

Do not  educate your child to be rich, Educate him to be happy So when he grows up, he’ll know the value of things, not the price.

Entry forms

Did Someone Say Prizes????

The time has come!  The moonjar project for 2012 has come to an end – and we are anxious to hear about your experience with the project.  How many of you have already purchased something with your Spend portion?  Or perhaps you are still saving for that special something.  Have you donated your Share portion?  If so, to whom and why?  And what about your Save portion?  What dreams do you have for those funds? 

For those of you who participated, we hope it has been a worthwhile journey.  We’d love to learn how you earned money, how you decided what portion to put into Save, Spend and Share, what you learned through your experiences and what you might do differently next year.

Prizes (Cash! Gift cards! Spartanwear!) will be awarded to the top three entries in Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4 and Grades 5-6.  Entries are due October 25, 2012 and should be given to your teacher.  Entry forms will be included in this week’s home school envelope and can also be found here.

 

Checking In...

So how is everyone doing?  Are your moonjars overflowing?  Here at our house, Zoe dipped into her "Spend" prior to a much-anticipated trip to the American Girl store.  What an experience it was for her to count out her one dollar bills for the cashier.  Mom and dad were so proud!  And a portion of her "Share" was recently spent on items for an August charitable event.  Another very positive experience.  As a parent, I've really appreciated the lessons Zoe has learned thus far in the moonjar project.  I'd love to hear others' thoughts. 

And of course there's always an unexpected lesson - call it a bonus: nail appointments must be specific.  "Sometime on Saturday" didn't quite work out.  Sorry Judy and Sophie!!  Zoe was disappointed too.  We'll make firm plans soon.

Mindset for savings

If you are looking for a new way to help you children establish a mindset for savings try a site called http://www.tykoon.com/ enjoy Mike Chambers

Online Tools

I recently came across an article geared toward investment advisors on the topic of teaching children financial skills (See "Teaching Financial Skills to Clients' Kids" from InvestmentNews, January 2012).  The article described several online tools that can be used to introduce or reinforce money management concepts and I thought they were worth sharing.  The tools included: kidworth.com, highscorehouse.com, allowancemanager.com, and hellowallet.com.  Perhaps you'll find one that fits you and your child(ren)!

Let the fun begin. 

The moon jar project is a great opportunity for kids to learn so many valuable lessons and I hope my kids are no exception.  The only catch is they can’t do it alone.  Yes it is vacation and they may baulk at the idea or you may even, but it’s your turn to take on the teaching role.  This could mean the difference between having junior liviing with you until he’s fifty or moving out and being independent.

Now that you are scared and I have your attention a little time now may save all of us time and money in the future.

So here are a few simple examples of what seems to work for us.

Do you need an actual moon jar container?   No, any containers will work.  Simple to elaborate based on your child’s creativity.  Sophie likes seeing the funds grow so clear containers (peanut butter jars, canning jars etc.) work best for her.  Michael has a strong understanding of money so just keeping a written log works well for him.

Now how much to put where?  Explaining fractions, this is based on age but I think by summer’s end Sophie will have a great understanding of percentages.  We started with 10 dimes which she divided repeatedly to understand how dividing the amount will affect the moon jar accounts.  Then she was able to pick what percentage will go into each account when she makes each of her entries.  Michael thinks she’s much too generous, and needs more in spending but more will be learned than he can comprehend I’m sure.

Once they each had their percentages figured out I wrote them down and let the saving begin.  Each time they earn or acquire money – Sophie found change in a parking lot- we record it.  Temptation to move money, or swipe some without recording will be a valuable lesson also, though I hope it doesn’t happen.

We do not give allowances yet so most funds have to be earned.  Mick and I have explained to the kids’ money spent this summer is their responsibility.  We advised this includes vacation souvenirs, concession stand spending and the like.  Mom and Dad will cover some items at times, but “oh can we stop at Wendy’s” is now met with “do you want to repay me when we get home or at weeks end?”  We haven’t stopped yet for some reason.  Packing snacks and water is coming much easier as well for each of them.

Our first trip to the bank will be this Friday.  I know it won’t be a great amount of interest but they will be watching their accounts grow.  I plan of having them record what they saved over the summer of 2011 and compare to 2012 deposits and interest gained.  This should make for another interesting dinner discussion I imagine.

Well those are some thoughts from our family.  I look forward to reading other ideas, as well as contacting Zoe to have my nails done!

Keep it fun and stress free and everyone will enjoy and come away with some great stories.

God Bless