Thoughtful Thursday Week 30 – Kids and Money

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Any thinking adult knows children should be taught about handling money, but where do you start? How? When? Money experts agree that children must be taught about money as early as age 3.

You start by giving them an allowance, usually their age in dollars per week, or half of that. Dave Ramsey advises against an allowance, but we have chosen to give one because it is one more way to discipline them. Back talking? That will cost you a dollar from your allowance. Refusing to do chores? I will have to take some of your money to pay your sibling for doing your work.

Thoughtful Thursday - Kids and Money

By the way, we don’t link allowance to chores. It’s two different things. Should allowance be tied to chores? You decide after reading this debate on the Wall Street Journal.

Chores are split into two categories: Continue reading »


Accountable Kids Review

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I have written on my blog several times about Accountable Kids but it has been briefly, just in passing, i.e. we use it and are happy with it. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, I rate it at 5. I think the time has come for me to share with you more in-depth about it. This program is for children ages 3-14. I started using it four years ago, when my oldest was 3 and my second was still a baby. Obviously, the baby could not do much with it. So we only bought one kit.

Accountable Kids board and cards

Accountable Kids board and cards

The kit contains a wooden board with five pegs, cards to hang on the different pegs, and a book. I highly recommend the book before you start the program with the children, not just so that you may understand what you are trying to accomplish, but to learn more about childhood phases, how you should think on your children’s level and many other parenting tips.

Accountable Kids Book

Accountable Kids Book

The Accountable Kids program has helped me (1) prioritize and schedule chores, (2) motivate my children, (3) hold them accountable for their behavior, (4) reward them for positive behavior and (5) build a forum for addressing negative behavior. It is not just a chore chart, mind you.  Continue reading »


First Day of Homeschooling

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And… they’re off! No, not exactly. They are still here, at home. And yet, they are learning. A lot. Isn’t that amazing? Our homeschooling journey started yesterday, on September 1. Of course, Self-University Week started yesterday, too. When I made this schedule I did not know about this neat coincidence.

I dressed the kids up in their school uniforms. DD asked, “Do I have to wear this all the time?” She’s such a girlie girl, she wants the scoop on her outfitting options. “Only for school time.” She accepted it.

I chose to buy school uniforms because

a. children look cute in uniforms.

b. it helps them get into “school mode”.

c. we are a private school. Well, sort of.

d. we can use them on field trips.

The routine wasn’t much different than before, but we did take pictures.

First Day of Preschool at Home

DD and I

We started with our Accountable Kids morning cards, followed by a devotional. We are using GraceLink Kindergarten for our Bible story time. This week’s lesson is about Baby Moses. It find it providential, because when God came to me about homeschooling two years ago, He used the story of Baby Moses. Another neat coincidence for our first day of homeschooling.

DS tutored himself through Simple and Motorized Mechanisms from LEGO Education while I worked with my daughter on preschool activities. She was very eager to learn, but got silly after 10-15 minutes. That was my cue she was done. I sent her to play by herself, which she was happy to do, while DS and I tackled the 3 Rs for 30 minutes.

They had recess and lunch. Then, they had P.E. and art (drawing with chalk).

That was it. Easy, peasy, homeschoolese.

First Day of Kindergarten at Home

DS and I

However, it was not smooth. In the early morning, our cat left us a calling card on the living room carpet. Later on, as I reached for a box, I knocked down a tray. Glass shattered and contents spilled out. My husband and I spent fifteen minutes cleaning. Just when I thought I could start teaching, I noticed the magnetic letters I had chosen so carefully the night before for my son’s reading lesson were missing. DD had noticed them in my tote bag and put them back up where they belong. So I had to pick them out all over again.

How do I come up with the four hours of homeschooling instruction required by the State of Tennessee? I’ll tell you in a future blog post. For now, I covet your prayers on our behalf. We need wisdom to guide our children well. Thank you in advance for praying for us!

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Help Me Be Good Books

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Besides the references to manners, virtues and character in our Bible curricula, we use Accountable Kids for a hands-on approach to character building. After all, I am dealing with concrete thinkers. DS and DD are five and three, respectively. They see their morning cards, they go accomplish the task in the picture. When finished with all the cards, they receive a ticket, which they redeem for an activity they enjoy. The same process happens in the afternoon and evening.

Last week, I was glad to find some books at the library which supplement our character training so well, I am thinking about buying them. It’s not as much a financial decision as it is a logistical one. I have been warned by veteran homeschoolers that my house will become engulfed in books. We love books, but we do not want to get suffocated by them. Hence, our great appreciation for the local library.

As a member of several Yahoo Groups, each with a specific theme under the general category of “Homeschooling,” I learn a lot from veteran homeschooling moms. I am so thankful for their generosity. Recently, on one of these groups, I read about a series of books on individual character traits, published by Scholastic and written by Joy Berry. The name sounded familiar and then I remembered she was the author of the potty training kit we bought a few years ago.

I made a mental note of the series and went on with my life, as I was not sure we needed to look into other character curricula as yet.

When I got to the library last week, I saw new books on display in the children’s section. Sure enough, it was the Scholastic series “Help Me Be Good”. Six of them, to be precise. There are a lot more in the series.

My children loved the books. They asked me to read them over and over. We even took two of them to church, for a tactile, concrete reminder about interrupting and being messy. So this last time in church, when they started talking a little louder in their pews, I put the book in their hands and asked, “Remember what we read about?” It worked to settle them down.

It was a good day at the office. Like anything though, this method might grow old and ineffective on them over time. Oh well. I will cross that bridge when I get there…