Earning Money

Cullen vacuuming the back.

Jackson's been working through a Brain Quest 1st Grade workbook this summer.  I didn't want him to completely forget everything he was taught at school.  There's a Time and Money section of the book which he adds pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Upon completing the section, Jackson asked me if he could have some money.  To which I replied, "Money is not given.  It's earned."

"How do you earn money?"

"You have to work for it.  You do a job and earn money."

"Can I get a job to earn money?  How can I earn it?"

So I thought about it for a minute.  I don't want to pay him to complete chores around the house.  Chores are part of living in our house.  No one gets paid to clean their own toilet or pick up their rooms.  It's expected, therefore I don't feel it necessary to pay him for it.

I finally thought of something I would feel comfortable paying him for, "You can clean my car."

"How much will I earn?" my savy negotiator asked.

"50 cents."

"Cool!"

My reasoning behind picking my car is this 1) It's my car.  Technically, it's my responsibility to keep it clean.  2) Jackson and his brothers are the main reason it's dirty.  And 3)  It's not too complicated but is work nonetheless.

The next morning, Jackson set out to clean my car.  He picked up all the trash, find objects I didn't even know were in there, dusted it, coated it in Armor All (as good as a 6 year old can), and vacuumed the floors and mats.  Cullen helped with the trash removal and vacuuming to earn 25 cents.  Of course, I supervised and made him redo things he didn't do correctly the first time while saying, "If you're going to do something, do it right the first time."

Now Jackson is excited because he earned 50 cents and has the opportunity to earn another 50 cents by cleaning Andrew's car.

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but I'm hoping these small lessons will go a long way in the future.