Isaac and his allowance

Growing up my parents never really figured out how they wanted to do an allowance and over the years they tried and discarded almost all kinds.  So figuring out how to do an allowance with my kids hasn't been that easy either.  So mostly we haven't done one.  But this summer a few things spurred me on to at least trying a method.  Isaac started an online pre-k program paid for by the state and it took him some getting used to.  It's 35 minutes online each day and he has to do that 5 days a week or we get kicked out of the program.  I really think he'll learn a lot and since he's not getting any reading prep in spanish preschool, I do think he needs this.  So to help him be motivated, I printed a basic calendar and he gets to mark off each day when he finishes.  Then at the end of the month if he hasn't missed any days, he gets $10.  About the end of September as his first month's money was coming available, he spied a toy in an add and fell in love with it.  Unfortunately it was over $30 so he had to decide if he wanted to save up and wait or choose something else.  And this little guy amazed me.  He saved!  For 3 months!  And even though his brothers made different choices, he kept on with his goal.

 And finally he got it!

 He was so excited and plays with it almost every day.  If you have no idea what it is, neither do I.  It's a new kind of lego that snaps together so you can pick up the guys (which are quite large and scary looking) and play with them more.  This guy also rides a sleek purple motorcyle.

Go Isaac!  I'm proud of him for learning to do his work even when he doesn't always enjoy it or want to do it at the moment, but I'm even prouder that he's learning to work and save for something you value.