“Don’t wish for it, work for it”. Those words are printed on a wood sign that sits in my boys’ bathroom. My wish is that they truly learn the meaning of those words and that they live by them.
My oldest starting saving his money early on. It was important to me that I teach him the value of a dollar so at age four he started earning an allowance. “Earning”, as in, if his chores were not done – he was not paid.
Our youngest is four and has entered the earning allowance stage. Being that he is a very visual child a Magnetic Chore Board to record his daily earnings was in order!
Outside of his everyday responsibilities, that have grown over time, he also has assigned chores to earn money. Keep in mind, he is four. At age four we assign four daily chores. They are the same tasks every day so that he knows what is expected.
At the end of the day we move a magnet on the Chore Board to the respective day if all chores were completed (without whining). The magnets are marked with “25” which means he has earned a quarter towards his week end pay. Yes, you read that right, twenty-five cents per day. He’s four! Inflation will inevitably come with age.
To create a similar Magnetic Chore Board you will need…
Magnetic Board
Wood Circle (we used Woodsies)
Circle Magnets
Paint
Chalk Pen
Glue
Paint the wood circles that match the size of the magnets;
Write desired numbers or verbiage on the wood circles with a chalk pen
then attach the wood circles to the circle magnets with glue.
Next, add desired verbiage to the board with a chalk pen.
Trace circles around larger Woodsies with a chalk pen.
Add letters to indicate the days of the week where magnets will later be placed.
At our house, if all seven magnets have been earned within the current week a ‘bonus’ quarter is awarded. Subsequently, at age four the potential earning a whopping two dollars a week.
It works for us. And it works for our little guy who is currently saving his money for a toy robot that teaches mathematics.
