One of my favourite times during the day is after dinner and before Aaron's bed time. This is the only time of the day that I can give Aaron my full attention and I always try to make it as productive as possible. He's usually tired after a long day but if I put enough effort in to make a game out of everything, he's still incredibly receptive.
I don't think I would like to be a classroom teacher but I love teaching Aaron. There are always new ideas that I want to try out or topics that I want to explore with him. I think I still have some hidden desire to completely homeschool him but thats unrealistic.
This week, we started learning about money. He got his first taste of the value of money when he took the two dollars he earned from painting a door knob hanger to a book shop. He was very disappointed when he found out that a sharpener was about the only thing he could afford. So, we've been discussing the value of money for some time but I haven't had a chance to break down the mechanics of money with him yet.
We've starting at the very beginning (almost) and learning to count money and how the coins can be used in different combinations to make up totals. Maybe I can even teach him to go pay for things and work out the change he needs to wait for.
My intention is to also show him how money is made and circulated. And maybe I'll draw up something to show him how the price of a good or service is derived - hence explaining how Richard's daily trip to work results in money for our needs. I don't think I'll go any further than that for a five year old. He doesn't need to know about the current financial woes in the global economy.
I always end up feeling like I have achieved something when I see Aaron feel excited and eager to learn more about something.
3 comments:
When my Aaron was about 5, we were at a garage sale and he saw a basketball that was marked at $4. He told me he had the money at home and would pay me back if I would buy the basketball.
I gave him $2 and told him to offer the lady $2 for the ball. He said, "But Dad, it's $4."
He ended up getting the ball for $2.50 and thought it was pretty cool that he didn't have to pay the full price.
He's become a pretty good haggler.
There are plenty of people out there that never learn the money leason.
John and Mike both make very cogent observations. I am a very poor haggler, but fortunately Agnes is a world-class one. I'm in awe of her skill. And you are very smart to start early to teach Aaron the value of money, because Mike is right. This is why the world economy is in such a mess.
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