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Teaching Life and History
These are the jars. The jars have quickly become the highlight of our Sunday bedtime routine, and not just for A (our daughter). I love seeing her eyes light up when I walk in the room with the three quarters that go into these jars. Before we get too far ahead though, let's back up for a second. My wife and I agreed that A would be able to earn an allowance at a relatively early age. It's our hope that she'll take lessons learned during these early money making days and adapt them to work and money related situations at a later time in her life. We've selected the three labels on the jars very carefully in order to convey three important financial concepts. In the pink jar, A deposits twenty-five cents for saving. Specifically, we say that this money is set aside for school. While we realize that this small contribution might eventually cover lunch on her first day on campus (she's already got $3.00, which is pretty good for a three year old). Generally, we hope to help A understand the importance of putting a portion of money away regularly into a savings account. It's impossible to foresee everything coming your way this month, year, decade. Sometimes it's hard to know what's coming today. A well stocked savings account can help with these unpredictable moments. In the centre, the clear jar holds A's money for spending. This is A's favourite jar hands down. Now that I think about it, this jar may be my favourite one as well. The money is the spending jar can be used to buy whatever she wants. The challenge for A, and one of the lessons that she is starting to understand already, is the concept of 'delayed gratification.' Essentially, A could go out each week and put her quarter in a candy machine. She'd be spending the money, which is completely acceptable according to the rules of the jars, but the candy goes quick. The pleasure attached to this purchase is fleeting at best. If A is able to wait, she can save more money and we can go to the dollar store (our last trip there was fairly successful and the Disney Frozen microphone she bought was a favourite toy for a while). I'm hoping this lesson sticks. I'm hoping that A will know that just because the money is labelled 'spending' doesn't mean it has to be spent. This was a lesson her dad probably should have learned a bit better before getting married. The blue jar holds A's money for giving. I feel as if this is one aspect of finances that is often overlooked and I'm hoping that our message is clear in her mind. Giving to others is an important aspect of humanity. Selfishness and greed, though predominate at certain levels of society, can only take us so far. Now, as Christians, my wife, daughter, and I do give to our church (the money in the give jar is actually A's allowance contributions and 10% of dad's weekly tip money from work). That doesn't mean that you and your family need to find a church to give to if you don't already attend one weekly. There are many worthy causes and many people that could find a use for that money. If you haven't already worked giving in to your family's financial planning, I highly encourage it! These jars are super simple. I think it took me longer to find them than it did to write the labels on them. But what a way to teach our toddler about these three important financial concepts. As A grows, her allowance will grow. As she moves into the working world, loonies and toonies will be replaced by minimum wage. Jars will be trumped by bank accounts. These three concepts will stay the same though. Save, spend, and give. That's it. Until next time.
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I love to write. I love the thrill of bringing new ideas to life on a fresh sheet of paper, digital or otherwise. I love that the only thing that can ever limit your writing is you. Your imagination rules when it comes to writing. Nothing is off limits. A story about talking animals? Sure! Aliens crash landed on Earth? Why not? Literally, anything goes. While this is the beauty of writing, it can also be its most frustrating element.
The sheer mass of available topics, questions, solutions, thoughts, and the rest is astronomical; its crushing. Without focus, without determination and perseverance, the author can quickly become pulverized in the possibilities, crushed by the choices, asphyxiated by the availability. You get the picture. During my two and a half years as a graduate student in history, I found these choices difficult, but manageable. While I was given the freedom to write on any topic for my courses, I was also limited in a sense by the course topic and syllabus. The selection was there, but only in a much subdued sense. Once I completed the program, my writing world opened wide. No longer did I have to meet a word count or particular topic. I was free! I could write anything! This thought paralyzed me. I choked. I couldn't put pen to paper. I knew something had to be done. How do you solve the problem of too much freedom? I was too financial unstable to go back to school (and let's face it, I was tired of school by that point). There was no demand for written work in my work world. I was stumped. Then, the solution became clear. I read it in Kelly James-Enger's Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. In her section on marketing yourself, she suggests thinking about what you can offer current and future readers. So here it is, what I can offer you: parenting and history. Parenting is a difficult task. There's no handbook, but everyone with kids is expected to do it. While I am far from an expert, I am passionate about making sure my daughter grows, learns, and treats others how she wishes to be treated everyday. It's challenging, but I'm lucky to have a loving wife who partners with me and makes the load a bit lighter. History can also be a difficult task. Finding your sources, interpreting them, and making relevant connections to the present can be challenging at times; but the rewards are well worth it. These are the two areas that I feel I can offer the most to all readers. Parenting and history. The purpose of this blog is to explore both. The challenge I am putting in front of me is to find where these two intersect. How can I use history to encourage my daughter to live a better life? What can my wife and I do to encourage our daughter to explore the world around her, to ask questions, to do the hard research, to find answers? Sounds like a daunting task. The posts on The Historical Dad may focus solely on parenting, on history, or both. Sometimes, I may delve into thoughts on writing. I like to keep the material fresh and engaging. In order to do this, you guys (the readers) are essential. Let me know what you think on a topic. Ask questions that get me thinking about my position. Suggest future topics to write on. Get involved! The last thing I want this blog to become is me writing into space with no engagement. Until next time. |
AuthorMy name is Kevin. I'm a husband, a dad and a historian, in that order. Archives
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