Several months ago, Jacob came to us demanding that he have a scooter. He has a trike and felt he was too old for it. I started to consider it, but Tom decided this would be a great learning opportunity for him. So we set up a job plan for him to work to earn it.
He did odd jobs around the house as I needed them done:window washing, cleaning out the dishwasher, wiping off the table, cleaning toilets, sweeping the outside stairs, washing mirrors, etc. He was capable of so much more than I ever expected! With every job, he got 10 pennies to put in a little jar. Then, we realized that if he was earning money, he should also be paying tithing. So, after learning about tithing, one of the pennies would go into the tithing jar as well. The goal was that as soon as the scooter jar was full of pennies, he could buy a scooter. The process took a lot longer than expected: there's more room in a baby food jar than I thought!
So here is the fruit of his labor! He was so excited to pick it out and then hit the streets to test it out. We discovered a great place to ride: the basketball court at our apartment complex. He goes around and around without me worrying about cars or running into anything else (except for Allison, who is a crazy moving target). He picked out his helmet and insisted on having pads and all his "protective gear," which seems pretty extreme to us, but would it make us bad parents to deny his requests for safety? The first ride after buying pads consisted of several pretend crashes, where he would fall and then say, "Good thing I have my knee pads/gloves!" He's a great rider; we were actually surprised to see his first attempts.Lucky for Allison, this means that she just got a "new" bike! Jacob was so cute as he passed it on to her. Her legs aren't quite long enough to really ride around, but she can hold her own on it.
It's fun to see the kids learning new things! Jacob paid tithing for the first time last week--he was so proud as he handed it to the bishop. He really stepped up to the challenge to earn money and now he knows what hard work can do!
5 comments:
So cute! Isaac is 6, and he is just now getting good at riding his Razor scooter. Way to go Jacob! And by the way, congrats on the expected arrival of baby #3! I just saw it posted on the MP1 blog the other day. How exciting!
Ok, first of all, you are amazing! I haven't made my kids "earn" anything like that! What a great teaching opportunity at such a young age! And I LOVE that he wants to wear all his gear! Hopefully he'll keep that up (at least the helmet!) Cute pictures. Allison could not be more yummy!
Oh my goodness, that is so adorable! And yes, you must practice safety first!! Actually, getting him used to the helmet now is a great idea. It will never be an issue when he's riding a bike. The kids look adorable in all these pics. And, I did not know you were expecting!! Congratulations! When's the big day? Oh, I guess I can go check the blog. I didn't notice it there.
Awesome, Jacob! Great job on helping out around the house and earning money for your scooter! And, you look great on your new scooter with your pads and helmet. Thanks for being such a good big brother to Allison- sharing your bike and letting her try out the safety gear. And, Heavenly Father is so happy that you paid your tithing! We are proud of you, Jacob!
Love, Grandma and Grandpa Tanner
P.S. to Tom and Amy... Great learning experience!
Fun to experience your bloog. Keep the cute pictures coming.
Dad Tanner
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