By now, you have probably all heard of Pinterest. It is the most amazing, addictive, yet inspiring place to share & gather ideas on the web. I have "pinned" thousands of ideas! I have also used SO many of them... from recipes to birthday party inspiration, to holiday decor!
The most recent "pinned & tried" idea I have implemented are these shadowboxes.
The kids have each been begging for a different (expensive) electronic & I refused to buy something that I knew they wouldn't have respect for & it would be lost or broken in no time.
Yet, they kept begging.
We tried talking about saving their money so they would appreciate it more, but alas, any money they got would burn a hole in their pocket- especially Jackson. Eli is pretty good about holding onto his (until his older brother convinces him "they" need more beyblades or gum or whatever).
So, I decided we would try these shadow boxes. The idea is that you put a picture of something they want to save for in the frame as a reminder to what they are saving for. And because it is a shadow box, it is wide enough to hold the actual money. Randy took the frames out to the garage & cut slots in the tops for me & then voila... the money dropping began!
Jackson was a bit disheartened that he literally only had the bottom of a jar of change to his name. But, I gave him a roll of dimes ($5.00) to jump-start him & Eli had lost a dollar in the playroom & he told Jackson if he found it, he could keep it. (so sweet!) And of course, it was quickly found!
Eli is saving for a Nintendo DSi & Jackson is saving for an iTouch! Hefty choices to save for, but Eli is already $50 on his way from leftover birthday money! :) I am going to start rewarding them in different ways , like rather than going out to lunch or dinner, I plan to offer them the option to put that money into their savings instead if they want to stay home & make a sandwich. When we are at the store & they are begging for a pack of gum or a new beyblade or set of Pokemon cards, i will offer to buy that OR i can give them them that amount to go into their savings if they would rather. Hard choices sometimes reap great rewards! I am hoping this will teach them that!
** These are the widest 5x7 shadowboxes I could find from Michael's that I got on a BOGO sale... so both frames only set me back $10 total. Sweet!
No comments:
Post a Comment